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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

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 13: The Behavior of a Perfect Person

7.13.23 7.13.25

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.13.24

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The saintly brāhmaṇasince 7.13.21inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

तृष्णया भववाहिन्या योग्यै: कामैरपूर्यया ।

कर्माणि कार्यमाणोऽहं नानायोनिषु योजित: ॥ २४ ॥

tṛṣṇayā bhava-vāhinyā

yogyaiḥ kāmair apūryayā

karmāṇi kāryamāṇo ’haṁ

nānā-yoniṣu yojitaḥ

Translation

Because of insatiable material desires, I was being carried away by the waves of material nature’s laws, and thus I was engaging in different activities, struggling for existence in various forms of life.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Turn Material Desires Toward Devotional Service

1
Endless material desires carry the living entity from one body to another. Like grass tossed in a river, he struggles amid changing material conditions.
2
Human life gives us a chance to stop materialistic activities by engaging our energy in the Lord's service. Even someone with material desires should take up devotional service.
3
The Supreme Lord knows how to fulfill our desires, so we should surrender unto Him. Pure devotional service means loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa without seeking material profit.

Key points from the purport

As long as a living entity wants to fulfill various types of material desire, he must continuously change from one body to accept another.
One must therefore stop these material activities, and the chance to do so is given in the human form of life.
Even though one may have material desires, one should therefore engage in the devotional service of the Lord.

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· 1

The purport of SB 7.13.24 quotesSB 2.3.10

“A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.”

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

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

Chapter 13: The Behavior of a Perfect Person

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When a sannyāsī thus becomes completely independent, peaceful and equipoised, he can select the destination he desires after death and follow the principles by which to reach that destination. Although fully learned, he should always remain silent, like a dumb person, and travel like a restless child.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 7.13

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

tṛṣṇayābecause of material desires
bhava-vāhinyāunder the sway of the material laws of nature
yogyaiḥas it is befitting
kāmaiḥby material desires
apūryayāwithout end, one after another
karmāṇiactivities
kāryamāṇaḥconstantly being compelled to perform
ahamI
nānā-yoniṣuin various forms of life
yojitaḥengaged in the struggle for existence

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
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 7.13
In this verse: “material”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 7.13
In this verse: “devotional service”
Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender
Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 7.13
In this verse: “surrender”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which desire is carrying me along, and how could I direct my energy toward serving Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today to read about Kṛṣṇa as service to Him, without asking for material gain.

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 2.3.10

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 7.13's connections

Live this todayTurn Material Desires Toward Devotional ServiceThis 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 7.13.24? 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