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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 5.19.31

Who is speaking and story frame

एवं तव भारतोत्तम जम्बूद्वीपवर्षविभागो यथोपदेशमुपवर्णित इति ॥ ३१ ॥

evaṁ tava bhāratottama jambūdvīpa-varṣa-vibhāgo yathopadeśam upavarṇita iti.

Translation

My dear King Parīkṣit, O best of the descendants of Bharata Mahārāja, I have thus described to you, as I myself have been instructed, the island of Bhārata-varṣa and its adjoining islands. These are the islands that constitute Jambūdvīpa.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Pass On What You Have Received

  1. 1

    The speaker concludes his description to King Parīkṣit, addressing him as the best of the descendants of Bharata Mahārāja.

  2. 2

    He has described Bhārata-varṣa and its adjoining islands as he himself was instructed. His account follows the instruction he received.

  3. 3

    These islands constitute Jambūdvīpa. This verse brings their description to a close.

Key points from the purport
  • Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Nineteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “A Description of the Island of Jambūdvīpa.”

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:

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.
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. evamthus
  2. tavaunto you
  3. bhārata-uttamaO best of the descendents of Bharata
  4. jambūdvīpa-varṣa-vibhāgaḥthe divisions of the island of Jambūdvīpa
  5. yathā-upadeśamas much as I am instructed by the authorities
  6. upavarṇitaḥexplained
  7. itithus
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sthāna · Planetary systems

    How is the universe arranged, and what is our right place in it? · Subject 3 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.19

    In this verse: “king”

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

When I share a teaching, do I stay faithful to what I have actually received?

Practice

Summarize this translation in one sentence without adding details that it does not give.

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Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Live this todayPass On What You Have ReceivedThis 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 5.19.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.