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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.26.37

Who is speaking and story frame

एवंविधा नरका यमालये सन्ति शतश: सहस्रशस्तेषु सर्वेषु च सर्व एवाधर्मवर्तिनो ये केचिदिहोदिता अनुदिताश्चावनिपते पर्यायेण विशन्ति तथैव धर्मानुवर्तिन इतरत्र इह तु पुनर्भवे त उभयशेषाभ्यां निविशन्ति ॥ ३७ ॥

evaṁ-vidhā narakā yamālaye santi śataśaḥ sahasraśas teṣu sarveṣu ca sarva evādharma-vartino ye kecid ihoditā anuditāś cāvani-pate paryāyeṇa viśanti tathaiva dharmānuvartina itaratra iha tu punar-bhave ta ubhaya-śeṣābhyāṁ niviśanti.

Translation

My dear King Parīkṣit, in the province of Yamarāja there are hundreds and thousands of hellish planets. The impious people I have mentioned — and also those I have not mentioned — must all enter these various planets according to the degree of their impiety. Those who are pious, however, enter other planetary systems, namely the planets of the demigods. Nevertheless, both the pious and impious are again brought to earth after the results of their pious or impious acts are exhausted.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotion Goes Beyond Heaven and Hell

  1. 1

    Pious people reach heavenly planets, while impious people enter hellish planets according to their actions. Both return to earth when the results of those actions are exhausted.

  2. 2

    Moving from one planet to another does not solve the repetition of birth and death. Knowing the transcendental nature of Kṛṣṇa’s appearance and activities allows one to attain His eternal abode.

  3. 3

    The goal is to become a devotee and surrender to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By chanting His names, worshiping Him and offering obeisances, one can engage life’s activities in His service.

Key points from the purport
  • In Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that even one who is very pious returns to earth after his enjoyment in the higher planetary systems is over (kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti).
  • We should not be eager to go to the higher, heavenly planetary systems, nor should we act in such a way that we have to go to the hellish planets.
  • Thus one should engage all the activities of his life in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

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 5.26.37 quotesBG 4.9

As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9): “One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.”

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:

After describing the hellish planets, Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes how pious persons are elevated to the highest planetary system, where the demigods live, and how they then come back again to this earth when the results of their pious activities are finished. Finally he describes the universal form of the Lord and glorifies the Lord’s activities.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.26
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. evam-vidhāḥof this sort
  2. narakāḥthe many hells
  3. yama-ālayein the province of Yamarāja
  4. santiare
  5. śataśaḥhundreds
  6. sahasraśaḥthousands
  7. teṣuin those hellish planets
  8. sarveṣuall
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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: “devotee”, “worshiping”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.26

    In this verse: “king”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 5.26

    In this verse: “chanting”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I seeking temporary rewards, or learning to devote my life to Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Chant attentively today: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Live this todayDevotion Goes Beyond Heaven and HellThis 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 5.26.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.