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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 ›
Canto 5 · Chapter 2: The Activities of Mahārāja Āgnīdhra
5.2.125.2.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.2.13

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Prince mistakenlysince 5.2.7inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

का वाऽऽत्मवृत्तिरदनाद्धविरङ्ग वातिविष्णो: कलास्यनिमिषोन्मकरौ च कर्णौ । उद्विग्नमीनयुगलं द्विजपङ्क्तिशोचि-रासन्नभृङ्गनिकरं सर इन्मुखं ते ॥ १३ ॥

kā vātma-vṛttir adanād dhavir aṅga vāti

viṣṇoḥ kalāsy animiṣonmakarau ca karṇau

udvigna-mīna-yugalaṁ dvija-paṅkti-śocir

āsanna-bhṛṅga-nikaraṁ sara in mukhaṁ te

Translation

My dear friend, what do you eat to maintain your body? Because you are chewing betel, a pleasing scent is emanating from your mouth. This proves that you always eat the remnants of food offered to Viṣṇu. Indeed, you must also be an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu’s body. Your face is as beautiful as a pleasing lake. Your jeweled earrings resemble two brilliant sharks with unblinking eyes like those of Viṣṇu, and your own eyes resemble two restless fish. Simultaneously, therefore, two sharks and two restless fish are swimming in the lake of your face. Besides them, the white rows of your teeth seem like rows of very beautiful swans in the water, and your scattered hair resembles swarms of bumblebees following the beauty of your face.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotees Receive the Lord’s Food Remnants

  1. 1

    The devotees of Lord Viṣṇu are also His expansions, called vibhinnāṁśa. The purport distinguishes them as devotees who receive His food remnants.

  2. 2

    Devotees eat prasāda, the remnants of food offered to Lord Viṣṇu. The scent of sacrificial ingredients therefore emanates from them as well as from the Lord.

  3. 3

    Because of Pūrvacitti’s pleasing scent, Āgnīdhra considered her an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu. He also compared her beautiful face to a lake decorated with fish, swans, lotus flowers and bumblebees.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Viṣṇu is offered all kinds of sacrificial ingredients, and because devotees always eat prasāda, the remnants of His food, the scent of sacrificial ingredients emanates not only from Viṣṇu but also from the devotees who eat the remnants of His food or the food of His devotees.
  • Āgnīdhra considered Pūrvacitti an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu because of the pleasing scent of her body.
  • Aside from that, because of her jeweled earrings, shaped like sharks, because of her scattered hair, resembling bumblebees mad after the scent of her body, and because of the white rows of her teeth, which resembled swans, Āgnīdhra compared Pūrvacitti’s face to a beautiful lake decorated with lotus flowers, fish, swans and bumblebees.

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

Responsibility → Renunciation. Leadership is set beside the renounced ideal.

Chapters 1–6 of Canto 5: Priyavrata and Ṛṣabhadeva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 2: The Activities of Mahārāja Āgnīdhra

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The girl’s actions, expressions, smile, sweet words and moving eyes were fascinating to him. Āgnīdhra was expert in flattery.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.2
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kāwhat
  2. vāand
  3. ātma-vṛttiḥfood for maintenance of the body
  4. adanātby the chewing (of betel)
  5. haviḥpure sacrificial ingredients
  6. aṅgamy dear friend
  7. vātiemanate
  8. viṣṇoḥof Lord Viṣṇu
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Sakhya · Sacred friendship

    The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 5.2

    In this verse: “friend”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 5.2

    In this verse: “devotees”

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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I receive prasāda with greater appreciation for its connection with Lord Viṣṇu?

Practice

When eating prasāda today, pause to remember that it is the Lord’s food remnants.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotees Receive the Lord’s Food RemnantsThis 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 5.2.13? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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