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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 5.8.23

Who is speaking and story frame

किं वा अरे आचरितं तपस्तपस्विन्यानया यदियमवनि: सविनयकृष्णसारतनयतनुतरसुभगशिवतमाखरखुरपदपङ्क्तिभिर्द्रविणविधुरातुरस्य कृपणस्य मम द्रविणपदवीं सूचयन्त्यात्मानं च सर्वत: कृतकौतुकं द्विजानां स्वर्गापवर्गकामानां देवयजनं करोति ॥ २३ ॥

kiṁ vā are ācaritaṁ tapas tapasvinyānayā yad iyam avaniḥ savinaya-kṛṣṇa-sāra-tanaya-tanutara-subhaga-śivatamākhara-khura-pada-paṅktibhir draviṇa-vidhurāturasya kṛpaṇasya mama draviṇa-padavīṁ sūcayanty ātmānaṁ ca sarvataḥ kṛta-kautukaṁ dvijānāṁ svargāpavarga-kāmānāṁ deva-yajanaṁ karoti.

Translation

After speaking like a madman in this way, Mahārāja Bharata got up and went outside. Seeing the footprints of the deer on the ground, he praised the footprints out of love, saying: O unfortunate Bharata, your austerities and penances are very insignificant compared to the penance and austerity undergone by this earth planet. Due to the earth’s severe penances, the footprints of this deer, which are small, beautiful, most auspicious and soft, are imprinted on the surface of this fortunate planet. This series of footprints show a person like me, who am bereaved due to loss of the deer, how the animal has passed through the forest and how I can regain my lost wealth. By these footprints, this land has become a proper place for brāhmaṇas who desire heavenly planets or liberation to execute sacrifices to the demigods.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Blind Attachment Clouds Judgment

  1. 1

    When someone becomes overly involved in loving affairs, that person can forget both self and others, and how to act and speak.

  2. 2

    Bharata Mahārāja gradually entered this condition through material love for the deer. He praised its footprints as signs of the earth's great austerity.

  3. 3

    The purport also cites the teaching that land bearing the footprints of a black deer is suitable for religious rituals.

Key points from the purport
  • It is said that when a person becomes overly involved in loving affairs, he forgets himself as well as others, and he forgets how to act and how to speak.
  • This is the situation arising from blind love.
  • Bharata Mahārāja gradually fell into this condition due to his material love for the deer.

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

Further reading

Chapter 8: A Description of the Character of Bharata Mahārāja

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

He could understand how he had fallen down from his exalted position, and remembering this, he left his mother deer and again went to Pulaha-āśrama. He finally ended his fruitive activities in the form of a deer, and when he died he was released from the deer’s body.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.8
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kim vāwhat
  2. areoh
  3. ācaritampracticed
  4. tapaḥpenance
  5. tapasvinyāby the most fortunate
  6. anayāthis planet earth
  7. yatsince
  8. iyamthis
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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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.8

    In this verse: “wealth”, “material”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 5.8

    In this verse: “love”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 5.8

    In this verse: “religious”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Is strong attachment making it difficult for me to judge something clearly?

Practice

Before praising something you are strongly attached to, pause and consider whether your words are accurate.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayBlind Attachment Clouds JudgmentThis 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 5.8.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.