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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

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 14: Ideal Family Life

7.14.27-28 7.14.30-33

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.14.29

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Nārada Munisince 7.14.27-28inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

यत्र यत्र हरेरर्चा स देश: श्रेयसां पदम् ।

यत्र गङ्गादयो नद्य: पुराणेषु च विश्रुता: ॥ २९ ॥

yatra yatra harer arcā

sa deśaḥ śreyasāṁ padam

yatra gaṅgādayo nadyaḥ

purāṇeṣu ca viśrutāḥ

Translation

Auspicious indeed are the places where there is a temple of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, in which He is duly worshiped, and also the places where there flow the celebrated sacred rivers mentioned in the Purāṇas, the supplementary Vedic literatures. Anything spiritual done there is certainly very effective.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Deity Worship Makes a Place Transcendental

1
A place where the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is duly worshiped is transcendental. Spiritual activities there, and at the celebrated sacred rivers, are especially effective.
2
Simply going to the forest is not enough; one must take shelter of the Lord. Living in a temple community, regularly worshiping the Deity and following the regulative principles makes the place like Vaikuṇṭha.
3
Deity worship must include proper regard for devotees and proper behavior toward people in general. A devotee’s home also becomes auspicious through Deity worship.

Key points from the purport

There are many atheists who oppose the worship of the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the temple.
In this age, therefore, since it is impossible to go to the forest for spiritual culture, one is recommended to live in the temple community as a devotee, regularly worship the Deity, follow the regulative principles and thus make the place like Vaikuṇṭha.
Therefore, in the temple there must be the Deity of the Lord, and the Lord should be worshiped by the devotees.

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 7.14.29 quotesSB 11.2.47

As it is said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.47): “A person who is very faithfully engaged in the worship of the Deity in the temple but does not know how to behave toward devotees or people in general is called a prākṛta-bhakta, or kaniṣṭha-adhikārī.”

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 14: Ideal Family Life

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The gṛhastha should also visit the holy places of pilgrimage mentioned in the Purāṇas. In this way he should fully engage in worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead for the benefit of his family, his society, his country, and humanity at large.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 7.14

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

yatra yatrawherever
hareḥof the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa
arcāthe Deity is worshiped
saḥthat
deśaḥplace, country or neighborhood
śreyasāmof all auspiciousness
padamthe place
yatrawherever

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

Manvantara · The change of Manus
What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 7.14
In this verse: “worshiped”, “devotees”
Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct
Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 7.14
In this verse: “principles”
Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender
Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 7.14
In this verse: “shelter”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I give more importance to devotees while cultivating my worship of the Lord?

Practice

Offer one small act of help to a devotee today.

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 11.2.47

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 7.14's connections

Live this todayDeity Worship Makes a Place TranscendentalThis 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 7.14.29? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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