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 9 · Liberation · 24 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

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 9 · Chapter 18: King Yayāti Regains His Youth

9.18.28 9.18.30

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.18.29

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 9.18.23inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

पित्रादत्तादेवयान्यै शर्मिष्ठासानुगातदा ।

स्वानां तत् सङ्कटं वीक्ष्य तदर्थस्य च गौरवम् ।

देवयानीं पर्यचरत् स्त्रीसहस्रेण दासवत् ॥ २९ ॥

pitrā dattā devayānyai

śarmiṣṭhā sānugā tadā

svānāṁ tat saṅkaṭaṁ vīkṣya

tad-arthasya ca gauravam

devayānīṁ paryacarat

strī-sahasreṇa dāsavat

Translation

Vṛṣaparvā wisely thought that Śukrācārya’s displeasure would bring danger and that his pleasure would bring material gain. Therefore he carried out Śukrācārya’s order and served him like a slave. He gave his daughter Śarmiṣṭhā to Devayānī, and Śarmiṣṭhā served Devayānī like a slave, along with thousands of other women.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa’s Household Life Is Beyond Ordinary Men

1
Vṛṣaparvā saw danger in Śukrācārya’s displeasure and material benefit in his pleasure. He therefore obeyed, and Śarmiṣṭhā and thousands of women became Devayānī’s servants.
2
The purport explains that a king maintained his wife’s companions and maidservants. Children born to maidservants were accepted as dāsī-putra and were also maintained.
3
Kṛṣṇa’s 16,108 wives were direct queens, not maidservants. He expanded Himself into 16,108 forms to maintain a separate household for each, something impossible for ordinary men.

Key points from the purport

A king would maintain not only his wife but also the many friends and maidservants of his wife.
Such children were accepted as dāsī-putra, the sons of the maidservants, and the king would maintain them.
Therefore although the kings had to maintain many, many servants and wives, not all of them had different establishments.

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

Insatiable desire → Renunciation. Exhausted enjoyment generates insight.

Chapters 18–19 of Canto 9: Yayāti's craving and liberation. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 18: King Yayāti Regains His Youth

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Once Śarmiṣṭhā was sporting in the water with thousands of her girlfriends, and Devayānī was also there. When the young girls saw Lord Śiva, seated on his bull with Umā, they immediately dressed themselves, but Śarmiṣṭhā mistakenly put on Devayānī’s clothes.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 9.18

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

pitrāby the father
dattāgiven
devayānyaiunto Devayānī, the daughter of Śukrācārya
śarmiṣṭhāthe daughter of Vṛṣaparvā
sa-anugāwith her friends
tadāat that time
svānāmof his own
tatthat

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 9.18
In this verse: “material”, “household”
Abhaya · Fearlessness
Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 9.18
In this verse: “danger”
Sakhya · Sacred friendship
The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 9.18
In this verse: “companions”

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 does Kṛṣṇa’s ability to maintain each queen personally distinguish Him from ordinary kings?

Practice

Spend a minute reflecting on Kṛṣṇa’s extraordinary ability to be personally present in every one of these households.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s Household Life Is Beyond Ordinary MenThis 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 9.18.29? 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