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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 7 · The Science of God · 15 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 7.1.32

Who is speaking and story frame

कतमोऽपि न वेन: स्यात्पञ्चानां पुरुषं प्रति ।

तस्मात् केनाप्युपायेन मन: कृष्णे निवेशयेत् ॥ ३२ ॥

katamo ’pi na venaḥ syāt

pañcānāṁ puruṣaṁ prati

tasmāt kenāpy upāyena

manaḥ kṛṣṇe niveśayet

Translation

Somehow or other, one must consider the form of Kṛṣṇa very seriously. Then, by one of the five different processes mentioned above, one can return home, back to Godhead. Atheists like King Vena, however, being unable to think of Kṛṣṇa’s form in any of these five ways, cannot attain salvation. Therefore, one must somehow think of Kṛṣṇa, whether in a friendly way or inimically.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Fix the Mind on Kṛṣṇa’s Form

  1. 1

    One must seriously consider Kṛṣṇa’s form and somehow fix the mind upon Him. Such remembrance opens the way back home, back to Godhead.

  2. 2

    Even Kṛṣṇa’s enemies think of His actual form and thus attain salvation. Devotees who constantly remember His form are certainly liberated.

  3. 3

    The purport warns against trying to make Kṛṣṇa formless or remove Him from Bhagavad-gītā. Its central instruction is always to think of Kṛṣṇa.

Key points from the purport
  • Impersonalists and atheists always try to circumvent the form of Kṛṣṇa.
  • They think of Kṛṣṇa in His actual form, and thus they attain salvation.
  • The regulative principle is that one must always think of Kṛṣṇa, whether as a friend or enemy.

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

Pride and rage → Oppression. The ruler's power intensifies his insecurity.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 7: Hiraṇyakaśipu's ascent and intimidation. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 1: The Supreme Lord Is Equal to Everyone

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The second question raised by Parīkṣit Mahārāja concerns how Śiśupāla, although inimical toward Kṛṣṇa from his very childhood and always blaspheming Kṛṣṇa, attained salvation in oneness when Kṛṣṇa killed him. Śukadeva Gosvāmī explains that because of their offenses at the feet of devotees, two attendants of the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha named Jaya and Vijaya became Hiraṇyakaśipu and Hiraṇyākṣa in Satya-yuga, Rāvaṇa and Kumbhakarṇa in the next yuga, Tretā-yuga, and Śiśupāla and Dantavakra at the end of Dvāpara-yuga.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.1
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. katamaḥ apianyone
  2. nanot
  3. venaḥthe atheistic King Vena
  4. syātwould adopt
  5. pañcānāmof the five (previously mentioned)
  6. puruṣamthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  7. pratiin regard to
  8. tasmāttherefore
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Sakhya · Sacred friendship

    The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 7.1

    In this verse: “friendly”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 7.1

    In this verse: “king”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 7.1

    In this verse: “devotees”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I giving Kṛṣṇa’s personal form a place in my remembrance?

Practice

Set aside one minute today to remember Kṛṣṇa’s form with devotion.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Live this todayFix the Mind on Kṛṣṇa’s FormThis 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 7.1.32? Get an answer from the verses themselves.