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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

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

5.2.6 5.2.8

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.2.7

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 त्वं चिकीर्षसि च किं मुनिवर्य शैले

मायासि कापि भगवत्परदेवताया: । विज्ये बिभर्षि धनुषी सुहृदात्मनोऽर्थेकिं वा मृगान्मृगयसे विपिने प्रमत्तान् ॥ ७ ॥

kā tvaṁ cikīrṣasi ca kiṁ muni-varya śaile

māyāsi kāpi bhagavat-para-devatāyāḥ

vijye bibharṣi dhanuṣī suhṛd-ātmano ’rthe

kiṁ vā mṛgān mṛgayase vipine pramattān

Translation

The Prince mistakenly addressed the Apsarā: O best of saintly persons, who are you? Why are you on this hill, and what do you want to do? Are you one of the illusory potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? You seem to be carrying two bows without strings. What is the reason you carry these bows? Is it for some purpose of your own or for the sake of a friend? Perhaps you carry them to kill the mad animals in this forest.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Sober Intelligence Recognizes Our Duty to Serve

1
Although Āgnīdhra had performed severe penances, attraction to Pūrvacitti bewildered his intelligence. The purport explains that lust makes one lose the power to distinguish clearly.
2
Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beyond the material world. Māyā is not the ultimate authority; she acts under His direction.
3
A sober person knows that a human being’s primary duty is to serve the Supreme Person. Toiling only for temporary sense pleasure leaves one without attachment for love of Godhead.

Key points from the purport

First he saw her two eyebrows, which were so expressive that he wondered whether he or she might be the māyā of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Devatāḥ, the demigods, all belong to this material world, whereas Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is always beyond this material world and is therefore known as para-devatā.
The material world is certainly created by māyā, but it is created under the direction of para-devatā, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 5.2.7 quotesSB 7.9.43

I am simply lamenting for them and devising various plans to deliver them from the clutches of māyā.”

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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

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 summary Back to this verse in chapter 5.2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

kāwho
tvamare you
cikīrṣasiare you trying to do
caalso
kimwhat
muni-varyaO best of munis
śaileon this hill
māyāillusory potency

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
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.2
In this verse: “attachment”, “māyā”, “lust”
Sakhya · Sacred friendship
The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 5.2
In this verse: “friend”
Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct
Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 5.2
In this verse: “duty”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where might temporary pleasure be distracting me from service to the Supreme Person?

Practice

Set aside one unnecessary sense pleasure today and use that time for devotional service.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 7.9.43

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 5.2's connections

Live this todaySober Intelligence Recognizes Our Duty to ServeThis 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 5.2.7? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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