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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

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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 5: Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu

7.5.30 7.5.32

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.5.31

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Prahlāda Mahārājasince 7.5.30inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

न ते विदु: स्वार्थगतिं हि विष्णुं

दुराशया ये बहिरर्थमानिन: ।

अन्धा यथान्धैरुपनीयमाना-

स्तेऽपीशतन्‍त्र्यामुरुदाम्नि बद्धा: ॥ ३१ ॥

na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ

durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ

andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās

te ’pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ

Translation

Persons who are strongly entrapped by the consciousness of enjoying material life, and who have therefore accepted as their leader or guru a similar blind man attached to external sense objects, cannot understand that the goal of life is to return home, back to Godhead, and engage in the service of Lord Viṣṇu. As blind men guided by another blind man miss the right path and fall into a ditch, materially attached men led by another materially attached man are bound by the ropes of fruitive labor, which are made of very strong cords, and they continue again and again in materialistic life, suffering the threefold miseries.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Choose Guidance That Leads to Viṣṇu

1
The goal of life is to return home, back to Godhead, and serve Lord Viṣṇu. Leaders absorbed in material enjoyment cannot guide others toward this goal.
2
An actual guru has heard and received perfect knowledge through the disciplic succession. Birth in a family of teachers does not by itself establish this qualification.
3
Materially attached teachers and followers resemble blind people led by another blind person. They remain bound by material nature rather than finding spiritual freedom.

Key points from the purport

Hereditary gurus, or spiritual masters, have been accepted everywhere since time immemorial, but Prahlāda Mahārāja declined to accept such a seminal guru or take instruction from him.
Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja did not recognize a seminal spiritual master.
Such blind teachers, being interested in the external, material world, are always bound by the strong ropes of material nature.

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· 5

Quoted in the purport ofSB 4.24.74

Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum: “They do not know that the real interest and the highest perfection of life is to worship Lord Viṣṇu [Kṛṣṇa].”

Quoted in the purport ofSB 5.13.19

Therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.31) says, na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum: generally people do not understand the ultimate goal of life.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 6.7.12

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.31), na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum: persons who are unenlightened do not know the aim of life, which is to return home, back to Godhead.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 8.16.19

Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te ’pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ. A foolish person does not know that he is completely under the bondage of material nature and that after death material nature will impose upon him a certain type of body, which he will have to accept.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 10.2.32

The śāstra says, na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum. One achieves the perfection of life by becoming a devotee of Viṣṇu, but people do not know this.

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

Threat → Steady faith. A vulnerable child remains inwardly unshaken.

Chapters 5–7 of Canto 7: Prahlāda refuses to abandon his devotion. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 5: Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Prahlāda Mahārāja replied that those who are attached to family life do not develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, either personally or collectively. Instead, they suffer repeated birth and death in this material world and continue simply chewing the chewed.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 7.5

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

nanot
tethey
viduḥknow
sva-artha-gatimthe ultimate goal of life, or their own real interest
hiindeed
viṣṇumLord Viṣṇu and His abode
durāśayāḥbeing ambitious to enjoy this material world
yewho

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 7.5
In this verse: “attached”, “material”
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 7.5
In this verse: “understand”, “knowledge”
Karuṇā · Compassion
Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 7.5
In this verse: “suffering”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Does the guidance I follow direct me toward service to the Lord or only material success?

Practice

Review one source of guidance you rely on and note whether it encourages service to Lord Viṣṇu.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

2 lectures given on it · quoted in 217 more lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 217 other lectures

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayChoose Guidance That Leads to ViṣṇuOne of the 108 chosen lessons: a practice and a question from this verse

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 7.5.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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