1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 7 · The Science of God · 15 chapters

123456789101112131415

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 ›
Canto 7 · Chapter 1: The Supreme Lord Is Equal to Everyone
7.1.377.1.39

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.1.38

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 7.1.36inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

अशपन् कुपिता एवं युवां वासं न चार्हथ: ।

रजस्तमोभ्यां रहिते पादमूले मधुद्विष: ।

पापिष्ठामासुरीं योनिं बालिशौ यातमाश्वत: ॥ ३८ ॥

aśapan kupitā evaṁ

yuvāṁ vāsaṁ na cārhathaḥ

rajas-tamobhyāṁ rahite

pāda-mūle madhudviṣaḥ

pāpiṣṭhām āsurīṁ yoniṁ

bāliśau yātam āśv ataḥ

Translation

Thus checked by the doorkeepers Jaya and Vijaya, Sanandana and the other great sages very angrily cursed them. “You two foolish doorkeepers,” they said. “Being agitated by the material qualities of passion and ignorance, you are unfit to live at the shelter of Madhudviṣa’s lotus feet, which are free from such modes. It would be better for you to go immediately to the material world and take your birth in a family of most sinful asuras.”

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Shelter Is Beyond Material Modes

  1. 1

    After Jaya and Vijaya stopped them, Sanandana and the other sages became very angry and cursed the doorkeepers.

  2. 2

    The sages described Madhudviṣa’s lotus feet as free from passion and ignorance. They declared the doorkeepers unfit for that shelter because of their agitation by those qualities.

  3. 3

    The sages told the doorkeepers to go immediately to the material world. Their curse specified birth in a family of most sinful asuras.

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:

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. Because of their fruitive acts, Jaya and Vijaya agreed to become the Lord’s enemies, and when killed in that mentality, they attained salvation in oneness.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.1
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. aśapancursed
  2. kupitāḥbeing full of anger
  3. evamthus
  4. yuvāmyou two
  5. vāsamresidence
  6. nanot
  7. caand
  8. arhathaḥdeserve
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 7.1

    In this verse: “material”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 7.1

    In this verse: “free from”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 7.1

    In this verse: “sinful”

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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the freedom from passion and ignorance at the Lord’s lotus feet deepen my desire for His shelter?

Practice

Pause during one moment of agitation today and offer a brief prayer for shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet.

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.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 7.1's connections

Live this todayThe Lord’s Shelter Is Beyond Material ModesThis 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 7.1.38? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories