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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
5.2.145.2.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.2.15

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

रूपं तपोधन तपश्चरतां तपोघ्नंह्येतत्तु केन तपसा भवतोपलब्धम् । चर्तुं तपोऽर्हसि मया सह मित्र मह्यंकिं वा प्रसीदति स वै भवभावनो मे ॥ १५ ॥

rūpaṁ tapodhana tapaś caratāṁ tapoghnaṁ

hy etat tu kena tapasā bhavatopalabdham

cartuṁ tapo ’rhasi mayā saha mitra mahyaṁ

kiṁ vā prasīdati sa vai bhava-bhāvano me

Translation

O best among those performing austerities, where did you get this wonderful beauty that dismantles the austerities performed by others? Where have you learned this art? What austerity have you undergone to achieve this beauty, my dear friend? I desire that you join me to perform austerity and penance, for it may be that the creator of the universe, Lord Brahmā, being pleased with me, has sent you to become my wife.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Shared Spiritual Understanding Supports Household Austerity

  1. 1

    Āgnīdhra wondered whether Pūrvacitti’s exceptional beauty came from past austerities. He asked whether she had gained it to break the austerities of others.

  2. 2

    He requested her to become his wife so they could perform austerities together. The purport explains that a suitable wife helps her husband when both share an elevated platform of spiritual understanding.

  3. 3

    Lord Brahmā is interested in good progeny. Āgnīdhra thought that Brahmā, pleased with him, might have sent Pūrvacitti to become his wife.

Key points from the purport
  • He thought that Lord Brahmā, the creator of the universe, might have been pleased with him and might therefore have sent her to become his wife.
  • In other words, a suitable wife helps her husband perform penances and austerities in household life if both of them are on the same elevated platform of spiritual understanding.
  • Therefore unless he is pleased, one cannot get a suitable wife.

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:

Understanding his desire, Lord Brahmā sent a celestial girl named Pūrvacitti to Āgnīdhra’s hermitage. After dressing herself very attractively, she presented herself before him with various feminine movements, and Āgnīdhra was naturally attracted to her.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.2
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. rūpambeauty
  2. tapaḥ-dhanaO best of the sages performing austerity
  3. tapaḥ caratāmof persons engaged in executing austerities and penances
  4. tapaḥ-ghnamwhich dismantles the austerities
  5. hicertainly
  6. etatthis
  7. tuindeed
  8. kenaby what
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”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.2

    In this verse: “understanding”

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 shared spiritual understanding guide household life rather than attraction alone?

Practice

Choose one small restraint today that supports spiritual understanding in your household.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayShared Spiritual Understanding Supports Household AusterityThis 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.

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