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 13: The Behavior of a Perfect Person
7.13.12-137.13.15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.13.14

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 7.13.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

कर्मणाकृतिभिर्वाचा लिङ्गैर्वर्णाश्रमादिभि: ।

न विदन्ति जना यं वै सोऽसाविति न वेति च ॥ १४ ॥

karmaṇākṛtibhir vācā

liṅgair varṇāśramādibhiḥ

na vidanti janā yaṁ vai

so ’sāv iti na veti ca

Translation

Neither by that saintly person’s activities, by his bodily features, by his words nor by the symptoms of his varṇāśrama status could people understand whether he was the same person they had known.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Respect a Vaiṣṇava Without Probing the Past

  1. 1

    The local inhabitants could not tell whether the saint was the same man they had previously known. His activities, bodily features, words and varṇāśrama symptoms did not settle their uncertainty.

  2. 2

    A highly advanced Vaiṣṇava may live in such a way that others cannot understand what he is or what he was.

  3. 3

    One should not try to investigate a Vaiṣṇava’s past. Prahlāda Mahārāja offered respectful obeisances without asking about the saint’s previous life.

Key points from the purport
  • The inhabitants of that particular place on the bank of the Kāverī in the valley of the mountain known as Sahya were unable to understand whether that saint was the same man they had known.
  • A highly advanced Vaiṣṇava lives in such a way that no one can understand what he is or what he was.
  • Without asking the saintly person about his previous life, Prahlāda Mahārāja immediately offered him respectful obeisances.

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 13: The Behavior of a Perfect Person

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

After retiring from family life, one should accept the status of vānaprastha, in which he must formally accept the body as his means of existence but gradually forget the bodily necessities of life. After vānaprastha life, having left home, one should travel to different places as a sannyāsī.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.13
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. karmaṇāby activities
  2. ākṛtibhiḥby bodily features
  3. vācāby words
  4. liṅgaiḥby symptoms
  5. varṇa-āśramapertaining to the particular material and spiritual divisions of varṇa and āśrama
  6. ādibhiḥand by other symptoms
  7. na vidanticould not understand
  8. janāḥpeople in general
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

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 7.13

    In this verse: “varṇāśrama”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 7.13

    In this verse: “understand”

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

Can I offer respect without needing to investigate a devotee’s past?

Practice

Today, refrain from one unnecessary question or conversation about a devotee’s past.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRespect a Vaiṣṇava Without Probing the PastThis 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 7.13.14? 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