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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 5.4.18

Who is speaking and story frame

भगवतर्षभेण परिरक्ष्यमाण एतस्मिन् वर्षे न कश्चन पुरुषो वाञ्छत्यविद्यमानमिवात्मनोऽन्यस्मात्कथञ्चन किमपि कर्हिचिदवेक्षते भर्तर्यनुसवनं विजृम्भितस्‍नेहातिशयमन्तरेण ॥ १८ ॥

bhagavatarṣabheṇa parirakṣyamāṇa etasmin varṣe na kaścana puruṣo vāñchaty avidyamānam ivātmano ’nyasmāt kathañcana kimapi karhicid avekṣate bhartary anusavanaṁ vijṛmbhita-snehātiśayam antareṇa.

Translation

No one likes to possess anything that is like a will-o’-the-wisp or a flower in the sky, for everyone knows very well that such things do not exist. When Lord Ṛṣabhadeva ruled this planet of Bhāratavarṣa, even common men did not want to ask for anything, at any time or by any means. No one ever asks for a will-o’-the-wisp. In other words, everyone was completely satisfied, and therefore there was no chance of anyone’s asking for anything. The people were absorbed in great affection for the King. Since this affection was always expanding, they were not inclined to ask for anything.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Good Government Brings Satisfaction

  1. 1

    Under Lord Ṛṣabhadeva’s rule, people were fully supplied with life’s necessities. They were satisfied and did not need to ask for anything.

  2. 2

    Their affection for the King kept increasing. Asking for more held no interest for them, just as no one asks for a flower in the sky.

  3. 3

    The purport calls the citizens’ full satisfaction the perfection of government. Ṛṣabhadeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cared for everyone while following Vedic principles.

Key points from the purport
  • No flower grows in the sky; therefore no one is interested in asking for kha-puṣpa or ghoḍā-ḍimba.
  • During the reign of Mahārāja Ṛṣabhadeva, people were so well equipped that they did not want to ask for anything.
  • Thus everyone was happy during the reign of Mahārāja Ṛṣabhadeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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

Responsibility → Renunciation. Leadership is set beside the renounced ideal.

Chapters 1–6 of Canto 5: Priyavrata and Ṛṣabhadeva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 4: The Characteristics of Ṛṣabhadeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Since the reign of Mahārāja Bharata, this planet has been called Bhārata-varṣa. Ṛṣabhadeva’s other sons were headed by Kuśāvarta, Ilāvarta, Brahmāvarta, Malaya, Ketu, Bhadrasena, Indraspṛk, Vidarbha and Kīkaṭa.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.4
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. bhagavatāby the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  2. ṛṣabheṇaKing Ṛṣabha
  3. parirakṣyamāṇebeing protected
  4. etasminon this
  5. varṣeplanet
  6. nanot
  7. kaścanaanyone
  8. puruṣaḥeven a common man
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.4

    In this verse: “king”, “government”, “citizens’”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 5.4

    In this verse: “principles”

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

When caring for others, do I pay attention to their actual necessities?

Practice

Help meet one practical need of someone in your care today.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayGood Government Brings SatisfactionThis 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 5.4.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.