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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.
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Canto 5 · Chapter 26: A Description of the Hellish Planets
5.26.235.26.25

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.26.24

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.26.5inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

ये त्विह वै श्वगर्दभपतयो ब्राह्मणादयो मृगयाविहारा अतीर्थे च मृगान्निघ्नन्ति तानपि सम्परेताँल्लक्ष्यभूतान् यमपुरुषा इषुभिर्विध्यन्ति ॥ २४ ॥

ye tv iha vai śva-gardabha-patayo brāhmaṇādayo mṛgayā vihārā atīrthe ca mṛgān nighnanti tān api samparetāḻ lakṣya-bhūtān yama-puruṣā iṣubhir vidhyanti.

Translation

If in this life a man of the higher classes [brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya] is very fond of taking his pet dogs, mules or asses into the forest to hunt and kill animals unnecessarily, he is placed after death into the hell known as Prāṇarodha. There the assistants of Yamarāja make him their targets and pierce him with arrows.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Cultivate Spiritual Knowledge, Not Cruelty

  1. 1

    The verse condemns taking pleasure in hunting and killing animals unnecessarily. It describes punishment in Prāṇarodha for this misuse of one’s position.

  2. 2

    Brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas should cultivate knowledge of Brahman. They should also give śūdras an opportunity to reach that platform.

  3. 3

    Social standing does not excuse unnecessary killing. The purport warns that those who choose hunting instead of spiritual cultivation face severe consequences.

Key points from the purport
  • In the Western countries especially, aristocrats keep dogs and horses to hunt animals in the forest.
  • Whether in the West or the East, aristocratic men in the Kali-yuga adopt the fashion of going to the forest and unnecessarily killing animals.
  • Not only are they pierced with arrows by the agents of Yamarāja, but they are also put into the ocean of pus, urine and stool described in the previous verse.

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:

A person who mercilessly kills animals in the forest without sanction is put into the hell called Prāṇarodha. A person who kills animals in the name of religious sacrifice is put into the hell named Viśasana.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.26
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yethose who
  2. tubut
  3. ihain this life
  4. vaior
  5. śvaof dogs
  6. gardabhaand asses
  7. patayaḥmaintainers
  8. brāhmaṇa-ādayaḥbrāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas
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”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.26

    In this verse: “knowledge”

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 am I using my opportunities to cultivate spiritual knowledge rather than cause harm?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today to study the teaching here about cultivating knowledge of Brahman.

Live this todayCultivate Spiritual Knowledge, Not CrueltyThis 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 5.26.24? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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