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

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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 10: Prahlāda, the Best Among Exalted Devotees

7.10.4 7.10.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.10.5

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Prahlāda Mahārājasince 7.10.2inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

आशासानो न वै भृत्य: स्वामिन्याशिष आत्मन: ।

न स्वामी भृत्यत: स्वाम्यमिच्छन्यो राति चाशिष: ॥ ५ ॥

āśāsāno na vai bhṛtyaḥ

svāminy āśiṣa ātmanaḥ

na svāmī bhṛtyataḥ svāmyam

icchan yo rāti cāśiṣaḥ

Translation

A servant who desires material profits from his master is certainly not a qualified servant or pure devotee. Similarly, a master who bestows benedictions upon his servant because of a desire to maintain a prestigious position as master is also not a pure master.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Pure Service Has No Material Bargain

1
A servant seeking material profit is not a pure servant. A master who gives rewards merely to preserve his prestige is not a pure master.
2
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the real, pure master. Unlike demigods who grant desired rewards, He never grants condemned benedictions.
3
Out of compassion, the Lord may take away the opulence of a materially attached person who wants to serve Him. His purpose is to bring that person to pure devotion, free from material motives.

Key points from the purport

If one is too materialistic but at the same time wants to be a servant of the Supreme Lord, the Lord, because of His supreme compassion for the devotee, takes away all his material opulences and obliges him to be a pure devotee of the Lord.
The Lord is the pure master, the supreme master, whereas an unalloyed devotee with no material motives is the pure servant.
One who has materialistic motivations cannot become a servant, and one who unnecessarily bestows benedictions upon his servant to keep his own prestigious position is not a real master.

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· 2

The purport of SB 7.10.5 quotesBG 7.20

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.20), kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ.

The purport of SB 7.10.5 quotesSB 10.88.8

On the contrary, it is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.88.8), yasyāham anugṛhnāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ.

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

Terror and divine fury → Protection and compassion. The crisis resolves through relationship rather than domination.

Chapters 8–10 of Canto 7: Nṛsiṁhadeva appears; Prahlāda pacifies Him. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 10: Prahlāda, the Best Among Exalted Devotees

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Similarly, a master who wants to please his servant after taking service from him is also not a real master.” Prahlāda Mahārāja, therefore, did not ask anything from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 7.10

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

āśāsānaḥa person who desires (in exchange for service)
nanot
vaiindeed
bhṛtyaḥa qualified servant or pure devotee of the Lord
svāminifrom the master
āśiṣaḥmaterial benefit
ātmanaḥfor personal sense gratification
nanor

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
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 7.10
In this verse: “devotee”, “devotion”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 7.10
In this verse: “material”, “attached”
Karuṇā · Compassion
Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 7.10
In this verse: “compassion”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I willing to seek pure service rather than rewards that strengthen my attachments?

Practice

Examine one request you make to the Lord and restate it as a prayer for service without material motives.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 10.88.8

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 7.10's connections

Live this todayPure Service Has No Material BargainThis 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 7.10.5? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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