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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.

Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Canto 5 · Chapter 8: A Description of the Character of Bharata Mahārāja

5.8.19 5.8.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.8.20

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The great King Mahārāja Bharatasince 5.8.9inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अपिस्विदकृतसुकृतमागत्य मां सुखयिष्यति हरिणराजकुमारो विविधरुचिरदर्शनीयनिजमृगदारकविनोदैरसन्तोषं स्वानामपनुदन् ॥ २० ॥

api svid akṛta-sukṛtam āgatya māṁ sukhayiṣyati hariṇa-rāja-kumāro vividha-rucira-darśanīya-nija-mṛga-dāraka-vinodair asantoṣaṁ svānām apanudan.

Translation

That deer is exactly like a prince. When will it return? When will it again display its personal activities, which are so pleasing? When will it again pacify a wounded heart like mine? I certainly must have no pious assets, otherwise the deer would have returned by now.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Strong Affection Became Illusion

1
Out of strong affection, the King accepted the small deer as though it were a prince. The purport calls this moha, or illusion.
2
Anxiety over the deer's absence led him to address it as though it were his son.
3
He longed for its pleasing activities to soothe his wounded heart. The purport notes that affection can lead anyone to address another as anything.

Key points from the purport

Out of strong affection, the King accepted the small deer as if it were a prince.
Due to his anxiety over the deer’s absence, the King addressed the animal as though it were his son.
Out of affection, anyone can be addressed as anything.

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

Compassion and attachment → Regret and vigilance. Affection becomes binding when it displaces devotion.

Chapters 7–9 of Canto 5: Bharata, the deer and the birth of Jaḍa Bharata. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 8: A Description of the Character of Bharata Mahārāja

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Thus he fell down from his mystic yoga practice. Once when the deer was absent, Mahārāja Bharata was so disturbed that he began to search for it.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 5.8

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

api svitwhether it will
akṛta-sukṛtamwho has never executed any pious activities
āgatyacoming back
māmto me
sukhayiṣyatigive pleasure
hariṇa-rāja-kumāraḥthe deer, who was just like a prince because of my taking care of it exactly like a son
vividhavarious
ruciravery pleasing

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
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.8
In this verse: “illusion”
Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership
Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.8
In this verse: “king”
Viraha · Longing in separation
Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 5.8
In this verse: “absence”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might strong affection influence the roles or qualities you assign to another being?

Practice

Reflect on one affectionate label you use and consider whether it expresses care or also reveals an imagined relationship.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayStrong Affection Became IllusionThis 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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