Study a Verse

• In the Kūrma Purāṇa there is this statement about the desires of the demigods:
• Although the demigods are situated in exalted positions in the heavenly planets, they nevertheless desire to descend to the land of Bhārata-varṣa on the planet earth.
• Therefore if persons already born in Bhārata-varṣa live like cats and dogs, not taking full advantage of their birth in this land, they are certainly unfortunate.

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

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

Chapter 19: A Description of the Island of Jambūdvīpa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

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. At the end of this chapter, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes to Mahārāja Parīkṣit the eight sub-islands within the island of Jambūdvīpa.