Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 19

Paramahaṁsa-Dharma: The Avadhūta-like Sannyāsī and Prahlāda’s Dialogue with the ‘Python’ Saint

Devanagari script

कवि: कल्पो निपुणद‍ृक् चित्रप्रियकथ: सम: । लोकस्य कुर्वत: कर्म शेषे तद्वीक्षितापि वा ॥ १९ ॥

Transliteration

kaviḥ kalpo nipuṇa-dṛk citra-priya-kathaḥ samaḥ lokasya kurvataḥ karma śeṣe tad-vīkṣitāpi vā

Translation

Your Honor appears learned, expert and intelligent in every way. You can speak very well, saying things that are pleasing to the heart. You see that people in general are engaged in fruitive activities, yet you are lying here inactive.

Synonyms

• kaviḥ: a sage/poet
• kaviḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kavi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kalpaḥ: capable
• kalpaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘fit/competent/able’

• nipuṇa-dṛk: keen-sighted, discerning
• nipuṇa-dṛk: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nipuṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + dṛś (धातु) → dṛk (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘निपुणा दृक् यस्य’ = sharp-sighted/discerning

• citra-priya-kathaḥ: whose speech/stories are pleasing and varied
• citra-priya-kathaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: citra (प्रातिपदिक) + priya (प्रातिपदिक) + kathā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी/तत्पुरुषार्थ: ‘चित्रा प्रियाः कथाः यस्य’/‘चित्रप्रियाः कथाः’—one whose talk/stories are pleasing and varied

• samaḥ: equanimous
• samaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• lokasya: of the people/world
• lokasya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• kurvataḥ: of (one) doing
• kurvataḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) → kurvat (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘of (one) doing’

• karma: action, work
• karma: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• śeṣe: in the end/afterwards
• śeṣe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन; ‘in the remainder/at the end’

• tad-vīkṣitā: that observation/consideration
• tad-vīkṣitā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + vīkṣita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; वि+ईक्ष्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘तत्-विक्षिता’ = that observation/that being seen/that consideration

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि (also/even)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्प (or)

Purport

Prahlāda Mahārāja studied the bodily features of the saintly person, and through the saint’s physiognomy Prahlāda Mahārāja could understand that he was intelligent and expert, although he was lying down and not doing anything. Prahlāda was naturally inquisitive about why he was lying there inactive.

FAQs

What are the qualities of a perfect devotee in Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 7 Chapter 13?

This verse describes a perfected devotee as wise and poetic (kavi), capable (kalpa), expert in discernment (nipuṇa-dṛk), fond of wonderful narrations of the Lord (citra-priya-kathā), and equipoised (sama).

How can a devotee act in the world and still remain untouched by karma?

The verse explains that although the devotee may appear to perform worldly work, he remains unaffected either because karmic obligations are finished (śeṣe) or because the Lord’s purifying glance (tad-vīkṣitā) nullifies karmic bondage.

Practical application: how do I become more equipoised (sama) in daily life according to Bhagavatam?

Cultivate steady hearing and speaking of the Lord’s wondrous narrations (citra-priya-kathā) while doing your duties; this bhakti-centered remembrance supports inner balance and reduces karmic entanglement.