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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
5.26.245.26.26

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.26.25

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 दाम्भिका दम्भयज्ञेषु पशून् विशसन्ति तानमुष्मिँल्लोके वैशसे नरके पतितान्निरयपतयो यातयित्वा विशसन्ति ॥ २५ ॥

ye tv iha vai dāmbhikā dambha-yajñeṣu paśūn viśasanti tān amuṣmiḻ loke vaiśase narake patitān niraya-patayo yātayitvā viśasanti.

Translation

A person who in this life is proud of his eminent position, and who heedlessly sacrifices animals simply for material prestige, is put into the hell called Viśasana after death. There the assistants of Yamarāja kill him after giving him unlimited pain.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Use Good Fortune to Perfect Bhakti-yoga

  1. 1

    A prestigious birth may result from a previous connection with bhakti-yoga. Such an opportunity should be used to perfect devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  2. 2

    Bad association can make a person forget that an elevated position is a gift from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Pride then leads to misuse of that position.

  3. 3

    Sacrifice performed merely for prestige, in violation of Vedic instructions, is punishable. The purport rejects maintaining slaughterhouses and killing animals unnecessarily in the name of temple worship.

Key points from the purport
  • However, due to bad association one often forgets that his prestigious position has been given to him by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he misuses it by performing various kinds of so-called yajñas like Kālī- pūjā or Durgā- pūjā, in which poor animals are sacrificed.
  • If one violates the Vedic instructions while performing yajña and simply makes a show of sacrifice for the purpose of killing animals, he is punishable after death.
  • Nowhere is it said that one can maintain a slaughterhouse in the name of temple worship and daily kill animals unnecessarily.

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 5.26.25 quotesBG 6.41

In Bhagavad-gītā (6.41) Kṛṣṇa says, śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo ’bhijāyate: “Because of his previous connection with bhakti-yoga, a man is born into a prestigious family of brāhmaṇas or aristocrats.”

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:

There an unlimited number of worms and insects continuously bite him. A thief is put into the hell known as Sandaṁśa.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.26
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yepersons who
  2. tubut
  3. ihain this life
  4. vaiindeed
  5. dāmbhikāḥvery proud of wealth and a prestigious position
  6. dambha-yajñeṣuin a sacrifice performed to increase prestige
  7. paśūnanimals
  8. viśasantikill
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 5.26

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “bhakti-yoga”, “worship”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 5.26

    In this verse: “proud”, “pride”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.26

    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 using my advantages for devotional service or for personal prestige?

Practice

Use one resource available to you—time, ability or wealth—for a small act of devotional service today.

Live this todayUse Good Fortune to Perfect Bhakti-yogaThis 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.

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