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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 24: The Subterranean Heavenly Planets
5.24.135.24.15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.24.14

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.24.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

न हि तेषां कल्याणानां प्रभवति कुतश्चन मृत्युर्विना भगवत्तेजसश्चक्रापदेशात् ॥ १४ ॥

na hi teṣāṁ kalyāṇānāṁ prabhavati kutaścana mṛtyur vinā bhagavat-tejasaś cakrāpadeśāt.

Translation

They live very auspiciously and do not fear death from anything but death’s established time, which is the effulgence of the Sudarśana cakra of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Material Comfort Cannot Prevent Death

  1. 1

    Everything in the subterranean heavens is nicely arranged, without bodily inconveniences or mental anxieties. Nevertheless, the residents must take another birth according to karma.

  2. 2

    A civilization aiming at material comforts cannot remove this defect of material existence. Even the most pleasing living conditions cannot check death.

  3. 3

    Death's established time comes through the effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's Sudarśana cakra. Its influence does not allow material happiness to endure.

Key points from the purport
  • One may make his living conditions very pleasing for the senses, but despite all favorable conditions, one must in due course of time meet death.
  • The members of a demoniac civilization endeavor to make their living conditions very comfortable, but they cannot check death.
  • The influence of the Sudarśana cakra will not allow their so-called material happiness to endure.

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 24: The Subterranean Heavenly Planets

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Those living in these planets do not become old or diseased, and they are not afraid of death from any cause but the time factor, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the planet Atala, the yawning of a demon has produced three kinds of women, called svairiṇī (independent), kāmiṇī (lusty) and puṁścalī (very easily subdued by men).
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.24
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. na hinot
  2. teṣāmof them
  3. kalyāṇānāmwho are by nature auspicious
  4. prabhavatiable to influence
  5. kutaścanafrom anywhere
  6. mṛtyuḥdeath
  7. vināexcept
  8. bhagavat-tejasaḥof the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  9. cakra-apadeśātfrom that weapon named the Sudarśana cakra.
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 5.24

    In this verse: “fear”, “death”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.24

    In this verse: “material”

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

Am I expecting comfortable circumstances to give me lasting security?

Practice

Spend one minute reflecting that even your most valued material comfort cannot prevent death.

Live this todayMaterial Comfort Cannot Prevent DeathThis 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 5.24.14? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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