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

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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.
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Canto 9 · Chapter 19: King Yayāti Achieves Liberation
9.19.179.19.19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.19.18

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

पूर्णं वर्षसहस्रं मे विषयान् सेवतोऽसकृत् ।

तथापि चानुसवनं तृष्णा तेषूपजायते ॥ १८ ॥

pūrṇaṁ varṣa-sahasraṁ me

viṣayān sevato ’sakṛt

tathāpi cānusavanaṁ

tṛṣṇā teṣūpajāyate

Translation

I have spent a full one thousand years enjoying sense gratification, yet my desire to enjoy such pleasure increases daily.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Long Enjoyment Does Not Exhaust Desire

  1. 1

    Mahārāja Yayāti says that he has spent a full one thousand years enjoying sense gratification.

  2. 2

    Despite this long enjoyment, his desire for such pleasure increases daily.

  3. 3

    The purport explains that he is speaking from actual experience about the strength of sexual desires, even in old age.

Key points from the purport
  • Mahārāja Yayāti is explaining, in terms of his actual experience, how strong are sexual desires, even in old age.

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:

Without great endeavor, those with a poor fund of knowledge cannot give up sense enjoyment, especially in relation to sex, because a beautiful woman bewilders even the most learned man. King Yayāti, however, renounced worldly life and divided his property among his sons.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 9.19
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. pūrṇamcompletely
  2. varṣa-sahasramone thousand years
  3. memy
  4. viṣayānsense gratification
  5. sevataḥenjoying
  6. asakṛtwithout cessation, continuously
  7. tathā apistill
  8. caindeed
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: “sense gratification”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does my own experience show about whether repeated enjoyment ends desire?

Practice

Write down one example from your life where repeated enjoyment increased your wish for more.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayLong Enjoyment Does Not Exhaust 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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