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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.19.25

Who is speaking and story frame

प्राप्ता नृजातिं त्विह ये च जन्तवो

ज्ञानक्रियाद्रव्यकलापसम्भृताम् ।

न वै यतेरन्नपुनर्भवाय ते

भूयो वनौका इव यान्ति बन्धनम् ॥ २५ ॥

prāptā nṛ-jātiṁ tv iha ye ca jantavo

jñāna-kriyā-dravya-kalāpa-sambhṛtām

na vai yaterann apunar-bhavāya te

bhūyo vanaukā iva yānti bandhanam

Translation

Bhārata-varṣa offers the proper land and circumstances in which to execute devotional service, which can free one from the results of jñāna and karma. If one obtains a human body in the land of Bhārata-varṣa, with clear sensory organs with which to execute the saṅkīrtana-yajña, but in spite of this opportunity he does not take to devotional service, he is certainly like liberated forest animals and birds that are careless and are therefore again bound by a hunter.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Use Human Freedom for Devotional Service

  1. 1

    Bhārata-varṣa offers facilities for hearing, chanting, and other methods of devotional service. Its holy places offer association with pure devotees who desire only to serve the Lord.

  2. 2

    Heavenly enjoyment and merging into Brahman are not lasting achievements. One should endeavor to go back home, back to Godhead through devotional service.

  3. 3

    Neglecting this human opportunity is like a free bird becoming trapped again. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advises those born in Bhārata-varṣa to realize themselves as parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa and distribute this knowledge throughout the world.

Key points from the purport
  • In the land of Bhārata-varṣa one can very easily perform the saṅkīrtana-yajña, which consists of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ, or one can perform other methods of devotional service, such as smaraṇaṁ vandanaṁ arcanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam and ātma-nivedanam.
  • In Bhārata-varṣa one has the opportunity to visit many holy places, especially Lord Caitanya’s birthsite and Lord Kṛṣṇa’s birthsite — Navadvīpa and Vṛndāvana — where there are many pure devotees who have no desire other than to execute devotional service (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam), and one may thus become free from the bondage of material conditions.
  • Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has advised that one who has taken birth as a human being in Bhārata-varṣa must first realize himself as a part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and after taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he must distribute this knowledge all over the world.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Smallness → Awe and reverence. A vast cosmos changes the reader's perspective.

Chapters 15–25 of Canto 5: The cosmic regions and divine worship. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 19: A Description of the Island of Jambūdvīpa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

If one who has taken birth in the land of Bhārata-varṣa as a human being does not take advantage of the opportunity for spiritual elevation, his position is certainly the most miserable. In the land known as Bhāratavarṣa, even if one is a sarva-kāma-bhakta, a devotee seeking the fulfillment of some material desire, he is freed from all material desires by his association with devotees, and ultimately he becomes a pure devotee and returns home, back to Godhead, without difficulty.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.19
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. prāptāḥwho have obtained
  2. nṛ-jātima birth in human society
  3. tucertainly
  4. ihain this land of Bhārata-varṣa
  5. yethose who
  6. caalso
  7. jantavaḥthe living beings
  8. jñānawith knowledge
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 5.19

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotees”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 5.19

    In this verse: “chanting”, “hearing”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.19

    In this verse: “knowledge”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which opportunity for devotional service am I taking for granted?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today to hear about Kṛṣṇa rather than postponing devotional service.

Live this todayUse Human Freedom for Devotional ServiceThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 5.19.25? Get an answer from the verses themselves.