1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 chapters

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 5.26.12

Who is speaking and story frame

एवमेव महारौरवो यत्र निपतितं पुरुषं क्रव्यादा नाम रुरवस्तं क्रव्येण घातयन्ति य: केवलं देहम्भर: ॥ १२ ॥

evam eva mahārauravo yatra nipatitaṁ puruṣaṁ kravyādā nāma ruravas taṁ kravyeṇa ghātayanti yaḥ kevalaṁ dehambharaḥ.

Translation

Punishment in the hell called Mahāraurava is compulsory for a person who maintains his own body by hurting others. In this hell, ruru animals known as kravyāda torment him and eat his flesh.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Bodily Maintenance Does Not Excuse Harm

  1. 1

    Maintaining one’s own body by hurting others brings compulsory punishment in Mahāraurava.

  2. 2

    The purport explains that a person who lives simply in the bodily concept of life is not excused.

  3. 3

    In Mahāraurava, ruru animals called kravyādas attack the person and eat his flesh.

Key points from the purport
  • The animalistic person who lives simply in the bodily concept of life is not excused.
  • He is put into the hell known as Mahāraurava and attacked by ruru animals known as kravyādas.

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

Moral dread → Wakefulness. Consequences of action are rendered emotionally vivid.

Chapter 26 of Canto 5: The hellish planets. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 26: A Description of the Hellish Planets

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the following twenty-eight hells: Tāmisra, Andhatāmisra, Raurava, Mahāraurava, Kumbhīpāka, Kālasūtra, Asi-patravana, Sūkaramukha, Andhakūpa, Kṛmibhojana, Sandaṁśa, Taptasūrmi, Vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalī, Vaitaraṇī, Pūyoda, Prāṇarodha, Viśasana, Lālābhakṣa, Sārameyādana, Avīci, Ayaḥpāna, Kṣārakardama, Rakṣogaṇa-bhojana, Śūlaprota, Dandaśūka, Avaṭa-nirodhana, Paryāvartana and Sūcīmukha. A person who steals another’s money, wife or possessions is put into the hell known as Tāmisra.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.26
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. evamthus
  2. evacertainly
  3. mahā-rauravaḥthe hell known as Mahāraurava
  4. yatrawhere
  5. nipatitambeing thrown
  6. puruṣama person
  7. kravyādāḥ nāmanamed kravyāda
  8. ruravaḥthe ruru animals
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

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 overlooking harm to others for the sake of my own bodily comfort?

Practice

Examine one choice you make for bodily comfort and avoid any unnecessary harm it causes.

Live this todayBodily Maintenance Does Not Excuse HarmThis 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 5.26.12? Get an answer from the verses themselves.