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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 ›
Canto 7 · Chapter 11: The Perfect Society: Four Social Classes
7.11.327.11.35

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 7.11.33-34

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 7.11.5inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

उप्यमानं मुहु: क्षेत्रं स्वयं निर्वीर्यतामियात् ।

न कल्पते पुन: सूत्यै उप्तं बीजं च नश्यति ॥ ३३ ॥

एवं कामाशयं चित्तं कामानामतिसेवया ।

विरज्येत यथा राजन्नग्निवत् कामबिन्दुभि: ॥ ३४ ॥

upyamānaṁ muhuḥ kṣetraṁ

svayaṁ nirvīryatām iyāt

na kalpate punaḥ sūtyai

uptaṁ bījaṁ ca naśyati

evaṁ kāmāśayaṁ cittaṁ

kāmānām atisevayā

virajyeta yathā rājann

agnivat kāma-bindubhiḥ

Translation

My dear King, if an agricultural field is cultivated again and again, the power of its production decreases, and whatever seeds are sown there are lost. Just as drops of ghee on a fire never extinguish the fire but a flood of ghee will, similarly, overindulgence in lusty desires mitigates such desires entirely.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Exhausted Enjoyment May Lead to Detachment

  1. 1

    The translation compares repeated enjoyment to repeatedly cultivating a field until its productive power decreases. Seeds sown in such a field are lost.

  2. 2

    Small drops of ghee keep a fire burning, while a large amount may possibly extinguish it. Similarly, repeated indulgence may eventually bring detachment from lusty desires.

  3. 3

    The purport explains that certain allowances for sinful enjoyment offer a chance for those activities to become detestable to the people pursuing them. That disgust may give them an opportunity to become purified.

Key points from the purport
  • If one continuously sprinkles drops of ghee on a fire, the fire will not be extinguished, but if one suddenly puts a lump of ghee on a fire, the fire may possibly be extinguished entirely.
  • Similarly, those who are too sinful and have thus been born in the lower classes are allowed to enjoy sinful activities fully, for thus there is a chance that these activities will become detestful to them, and they will get the opportunity to be purified.

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

Seriousness → Principled living. The example of bhakti becomes a guide to daily life.

Chapters 11–15 of Canto 7: Teachings on social and spiritual conduct. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 11: The Perfect Society: Four Social Classes

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Nārada Muni also described that the symptom of a brāhmaṇa is controlled senses, the symptoms of a kṣatriya are power and fame, the symptom of a vaiśya is service to the brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas, and the symptom of a śūdra is service to the three higher classes. The qualification for a woman is to be a very faithful and chaste wife.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.11
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. upyamānambeing cultivated
  2. muhuḥagain and again
  3. kṣetrama field
  4. svayamitself
  5. nirvīryatāmbarrenness
  6. iyātmay obtain
  7. na kalpateis not suitable
  8. punaḥagain
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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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 7.11

    In this verse: “king”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 7.11

    In this verse: “lusty”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 7.11

    In this verse: “purified”, “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

Have I experienced an enjoyment becoming tiresome rather than satisfying?

Practice

Write down one enjoyment that has become tiresome and reflect on whether your attachment to it is weakening.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayExhausted Enjoyment May Lead to DetachmentThis 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 7.11.33-34? Get an answer from the verses themselves.