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Study a Verse

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

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Canto

Canto 7 · The Science of God · 15 chapters

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

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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

7.13.38 7.13.40

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.13.39

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The brāhmaṇasince 7.13.32inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

क्षौमं दुकूलमजिनं चीरं वल्कलमेव वा ।

वसेऽन्यदपि सम्प्राप्तं दिष्टभुक्तुष्टधीरहम् ॥ ३९ ॥

kṣaumaṁ dukūlam ajinaṁ

cīraṁ valkalam eva vā

vase ’nyad api samprāptaṁ

diṣṭa-bhuk tuṣṭa-dhīr aham

Translation

To cover my body I use whatever is available, whether it be linen, silk, cotton, bark or deerskin, according to my destiny, and I am fully satisfied and unagitated.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Satisfied With Whatever Clothing Is Available

1
The saint covers his body with whatever clothing is available, whether linen, silk, cotton, bark or deerskin.
2
He accepts what comes according to his destiny rather than insisting on a particular kind of clothing.
3
Whatever he wears, he remains fully satisfied and unagitated.

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:

Being satisfied with whatever he attains by the grace of the Lord, he is completely independent of material happiness and distress, and thus he is transcendental to all regulative principles. Sometimes he accepts severe austerities, and sometimes he accepts material opulence.

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