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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 5.9.6

Who is speaking and story frame

एवं स्वतनुज आत्मन्यनुरागावेशितचित्त: शौचाध्ययनव्रतनियमगुर्वनलशुश्रूषणाद्यौपकुर्वाणककर्माण्यनभियुक्तान्यपि समनुशिष्टेन भाव्यमित्यसदाग्रह: पुत्रमनुशास्य स्वयं तावद् अनधिगतमनोरथ: कालेनाप्रमत्तेन स्वयं गृह एव प्रमत्त उपसंहृत: ॥ ६ ॥

evaṁ sva-tanuja ātmany anurāgāveśita-cittaḥ śaucādhyayana-vrata-niyama-gurv-anala-śuśrūṣaṇādy-aupakurvāṇaka-karmāṇy anabhiyuktāny api samanuśiṣṭena bhāvyam ity asad-āgrahaḥ putram anuśāsya svayaṁ tāvad anadhigata-manorathaḥ kālenāpramattena svayaṁ gṛha eva pramatta upasaṁhṛtaḥ.

Translation

The brāhmaṇa father of Jaḍa Bharata considered his son his heart and soul, and therefore he was very much attached to him. He thought it wise to educate his son properly, and being absorbed in this unsuccessful endeavor, he tried to teach his son the rules and regulations of brahmacarya — including the execution of the Vedic vows, cleanliness, study of the Vedas, the regulative methods, service to the spiritual master and the method of offering a fire sacrifice. He tried his best to teach his son in this way, but all his endeavors failed. In his heart he hoped that his son would be a learned scholar, but all his attempts were unsuccessful. Like everyone, this brāhmaṇa was attached to his home, and he had forgotten that someday he would die. Death, however, was not forgetful. At the proper time, death appeared and took him away.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Remember Death and Life’s Spiritual Purpose

  1. 1

    Jaḍa Bharata’s father was absorbed in educating his beloved son and forgot that death would come. Although people forget death, death never forgets them.

  2. 2

    Excessive attachment to family affairs can prevent one from fulfilling the purpose of human life. Jaḍa Bharata was concerned with returning home, back to Godhead, through hearing and chanting about the Lord.

  3. 3

    Vedic principles are imperative for an ordinary person. Jaḍa Bharata’s position beyond these requirements rested on his perfection in devotional service, not on ordinary unwillingness to follow them.

Key points from the purport
  • Those too attached to family life, who forget that death comes in the future to take them away, become attached and unable to finish their duty as human beings.
  • The brāhmaṇa father of Jaḍa Bharata wanted to teach his son the process of brahmacarya, but he was unsuccessful due to his son’s unwillingness to undergo the process of Vedic advancement.
  • But when one has attained the perfection of devotional service, it is not very important to follow the Vedic principles.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 5.9.6 quotesBG 2.45

Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the Self.”

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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 9: The Supreme Character of Jaḍa Bharata

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

He was ordered by his stepbrothers and mother to guard a paddy field one night, and at that time the leader of a dacoit party took him away and tried to kill him by offering him as a sacrifice before Bhadra Kālī. When the dacoits brought Bharata Mahārāja before the goddess Kālī and raised a chopper to kill him, the goddess Kālī became immediately alarmed due to the mistreatment of a devotee.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.9
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. evamthus
  2. svaown
  3. tanu-jein his son, Jaḍa Bharata
  4. ātmaniwhom he considered to be himself
  5. anurāga-āveśita-cittaḥthe brāhmaṇa who was absorbed in love for his son
  6. śaucacleanliness
  7. adhyayanastudy of Vedic literature
  8. vrataaccepting all the vows
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.9

    In this verse: “attached”, “attachment”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 5.9

    In this verse: “chanting”, “hearing”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 5.9

    In this verse: “death”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I making room for life’s spiritual purpose amid my family responsibilities?

Practice

Reserve a short time today for hearing or chanting about the Lord rather than postponing it.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRemember Death and Life’s Spiritual PurposeThis 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 5.9.6? Get an answer from the verses themselves.