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 5.26.18

Who is speaking and story frame

यस्त्विह वा असंविभज्याश्नाति यत्किञ्चनोपनतमनिर्मितपञ्चयज्ञो वायससंस्तुत: स परत्र कृमिभोजने नरकाधमे निपतति तत्र शतसहस्रयोजने कृमिकुण्डे कृमिभूत: स्वयं कृमिभिरेव भक्ष्यमाण: कृमिभोजनो यावत्तदप्रत्ताप्रहूतादोऽनिर्वेशमात्मानं यातयते ॥ १८ ॥

yas tv iha vā asaṁvibhajyāśnāti yat kiñcanopanatam anirmita-pañca-yajño vāyasa-saṁstutaḥ sa paratra kṛmibhojane narakādhame nipatati tatra śata-sahasra-yojane kṛmi-kuṇḍe kṛmi-bhūtaḥ svayaṁ kṛmibhir eva bhakṣyamāṇaḥ kṛmi-bhojano yāvat tad aprattāprahūtādo ’nirveśam ātmānaṁ yātayate.

Translation

A person is considered no better than a crow if after receiving some food, he does not divide it among guests, old men and children, but simply eats it himself, or if he eats it without performing the five kinds of sacrifice. After death he is put into the most abominable hell, known as Kṛmibhojana. In that hell is a lake 100,000 yojanas [800,000 miles] wide and filled with worms. He becomes a worm in that lake and feeds on the other worms there, who also feed on him. Unless he atones for his actions before his death, such a sinful man remains in the hellish lake of Kṛmibhojana for as many years as there are yojanas in the width of the lake.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Offer Food and Share the Lord’s Mercy

  1. 1

    All food is supplied by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We should acknowledge His mercy by performing yajña, or sacrifice.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa teaches that work should be performed as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu; otherwise it binds us to this world. The goal is to serve the Lord for His satisfaction, not merely for personal enjoyment.

  3. 3

    One should offer food and distribute prasāda to dependents, including children, brāhmaṇas and old men, before eating. The verse warns that selfish eating without sacrifice or sharing leads to Kṛmibhojana unless one atones.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore we should acknowledge His mercy by performing yajña (sacrifice).
  • Only after performing yajña and distributing the prasāda to all dependents — children, brāhmaṇas and old men — should one eat.
  • After death he is put into the hell known as Kṛmibhojana.

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· 2

The purport of SB 5.26.18 quotesBG 3.13

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.13): “The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is first offered for sacrifice.

The purport of SB 5.26.18 quotesBG 3.9

According to Kṛṣṇa: “Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed; otherwise work binds one to this material world.

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

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:

Any person who does not receive or feed a guest properly but who personally enjoys eating is put into the hell known as Kṛmibhojana. There an unlimited number of worms and insects continuously bite him.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.26
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yaḥany person who
  2. tubut
  3. ihain this life
  4. vāor
  5. asaṁ-vibhajyawithout dividing
  6. aśnātieats
  7. yat kiñcanawhatever
  8. upanatamobtained by Kṛṣṇa’s grace
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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 5.26

    In this verse: “death”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 5.26

    In this verse: “children”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 5.26

    In this verse: “sinful”

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 my meals become an expression of service and gratitude rather than only personal enjoyment?

Practice

Offer your food to the Lord today and share prasāda with someone before you eat.

5

Connected stories

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

Live this todayOffer Food and Share the Lord’s MercyThis 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 5.26.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.