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Canto 9 · Liberation · 24 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 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 19: King Yayāti Achieves Liberation
9.19.139.19.15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.19.14

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 9.19.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit
A turning point forKing Yayāti· The goat allegory

न जातु काम: कामानामुपभोगेन शाम्यति ।

हविषा कृष्णवर्त्मेव भूय एवाभिवर्धते ॥ १४ ॥

na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānām

upabhogena śāṁyati

haviṣā kṛṣṇa-vartmeva

bhūya evābhivardhate

Translation

As supplying butter to a fire does not diminish the fire but instead increases it more and more, the endeavor to stop lusty desires by continual enjoyment can never be successful. [In fact, one must voluntarily cease from material desires.]

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Enjoyment Feeds the Fire of Desire

  1. 1

    Trying to end lusty desires through continual enjoyment can never succeed.

  2. 2

    Supplying butter to a blazing fire increases it rather than extinguishing it. Similarly, indulgence strengthens desire.

  3. 3

    Enough money and resources to satisfy the senses still cannot bring satisfaction. Material desires must be voluntarily given up.

Key points from the purport
  • One may have enough money and enough resources to satisfy the senses but still not be satisfied, for the endeavor to stop lusty desires by enjoying can never be successful.
  • One cannot stop a blazing fire by trying to extinguish it with butter.

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

Further reading

Chapter 19: King Yayāti Achieves Liberation

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

If one is lusty and greedy, even the total stock of gold in this world cannot satisfy one’s lusty desires. These desires are like a fire.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 9.19
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nanot
  2. jātuat any time
  3. kāmaḥlusty desires
  4. kāmānāmof persons who are very lusty
  5. upabhogenaby enjoyment of lusty desires
  6. śāṁyatican be pacified
  7. haviṣāby supplying butter
  8. kṛṣṇa-vartmāfire
3

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 9.19

    In this verse: “lusty”, “material”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which repeated indulgence seems to increase my desire rather than satisfy it?

Practice

Forgo one unnecessary indulgence today, remembering the example of butter feeding a fire.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayEnjoyment Feeds the Fire of DesireThis 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.

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