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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 5.8.25

Who is speaking and story frame

किं वाऽऽत्मजविश्लेषज्वरदवदहनशिखाभिरुपतप्यमानहृदयस्थलनलिनीकं मामुपसृतमृगीतनयं शिशिरशान्तानुरागगुणितनिजवदनसलिलामृतमयगभस्तिभि: स्वधयतीति च ॥ २५ ॥

kiṁ vātmaja-viśleṣa-jvara-dava-dahana-śikhābhir upatapyamāna-hṛdaya-sthala-nalinīkaṁ mām upasṛta-mṛgī-tanayaṁ śiśira-śāntānurāga-guṇita-nija-vadana-salilāmṛtamaya-gabhastibhiḥ svadhayatīti ca.

Translation

After perceiving the moonshine, Mahārāja Bharata continued speaking like a crazy person. He said: The deer’s son was so submissive and dear to me that due to its separation I am feeling separation from my own son. Due to the burning fever of this separation, I am suffering as if inflamed by a forest fire. My heart, which is like the lily of the land, is now burning. Seeing me so distressed, the moon is certainly splashing its shining nectar upon me — just as a friend throws water on another friend who has a high fever. In this way, the moon is bringing me happiness.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Separation Reveals the Pain of Attachment

  1. 1

    Bharata Mahārāja felt separation from the deer as though he had lost his own son.

  2. 2

    He described his distress as a burning fever and a forest fire consuming his heart.

  3. 3

    He imagined the moon's rays as soothing water splashed upon him by a friend to relieve that fever.

Key points from the purport
  • According to Āyurvedic treatment, it is said that if one has a high fever, someone should splash him with water after gargling this water.
  • Although Bharata Mahārāja was very aggrieved due to the separation of his so-called son, the deer, he thought that the moon was splashing gargled water on him from its mouth and that this water would subdue his high fever, which was raging due to separation from 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:

While searching and lamenting the deer’s absence, Mahārāja Bharata fell down and died. Because his mind was fully absorbed thinking of the deer, he naturally took his next birth from the womb of a deer.
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 vāor it may be
  2. ātma-jafrom the son
  3. viśleṣabecause of separation
  4. jvarathe heat
  5. dava-dahanaof the forest fire
  6. śikhābhiḥby the flames
  7. upatapyamānabeing burned
  8. hṛdayathe heart
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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

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 5.8

    In this verse: “suffering”, “distressed”, “distress”

  • Sakhya · Sacred friendship

    The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 5.8

    In this verse: “friend”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 5.8

    In this verse: “separation”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does attachment affect the way I experience separation?

Practice

Take a quiet minute to name a distress caused by attachment and notice how it occupies your thoughts.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySeparation Reveals the Pain of AttachmentThis 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 5.8.25? Get an answer from the verses themselves.