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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 5.26.8

Who is speaking and story frame

तत्र यस्तु परवित्तापत्यकलत्राण्यपहरति स हि कालपाशबद्धो यमपुरुषैरतिभयानकैस्तामिस्रे नरके बलान्निपात्यते अनशनानुदपानदण्डताडनसन्तर्जनादिभिर्यातनाभिर्यात्यमानो जन्तुर्यत्र कश्मलमासादित एकदैव मूर्च्छामुपयाति तामिस्रप्राये ॥ ८ ॥

tatra yas tu para-vittāpatya-kalatrāṇy apaharati sa hi kāla-pāśa-baddho yama-puruṣair ati-bhayānakais tāmisre narake balān nipātyate anaśanānudapāna-daṇḍa-tāḍana-santarjanādibhir yātanābhir yātyamāno jantur yatra kaśmalam āsādita ekadaiva mūrcchām upayāti tāmisra-prāye.

Translation

My dear King, a person who appropriates another’s legitimate wife, children or money is arrested at the time of death by the fierce Yamadūtas, who bind him with the rope of time and forcibly throw him into the hellish planet known as Tāmisra. On this very dark planet, the sinful man is chastised by the Yamadūtas, who beat and rebuke him. He is starved, and he is given no water to drink. Thus the wrathful assistants of Yamarāja cause him severe suffering, and sometimes he faints from their chastisement.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Taking What Belongs to Another Brings Suffering

  1. 1

    A person who takes another’s legitimate wife, children or money is taken by the Yamadūtas at death.

  2. 2

    Bound with the rope of time, that person is forcibly thrown into the very dark planet Tāmisra.

  3. 3

    There, the person suffers beating, rebukes, starvation and lack of water. The suffering is sometimes so severe that he faints.

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 steals another’s money, wife or possessions is put into the hell known as Tāmisra. A man who tricks someone and enjoys his wife is put into the extremely hellish condition known as Andhatāmisra.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.26
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tatrain those hellish planets
  2. yaḥa person who
  3. tubut
  4. para-vitta-apatya-kalatrāṇithe money, wife and children of another
  5. apaharatitakes away
  6. saḥthat person
  7. hicertainly
  8. kāla-pāśa-baddhaḥbeing bound by the ropes of time or Yamarāja
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

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 5.26

    In this verse: “suffering”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

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

    In this verse: “death”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.26

    In this verse: “king”

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

Do I respect other people’s family relationships and rightful possessions?

Practice

Check whether you are keeping anything that rightfully belongs to someone else, and return it if you are.

5

Connected stories

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

Live this todayTaking What Belongs to Another Brings SufferingThis 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 5.26.8? Get an answer from the verses themselves.