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Who is speaking?

Every chapter of the Bhāgavatam, coloured by how many narrators deep it goes. Choose one to see its frames and every verse where a new voice begins.

335 chapters

The depth map

1 voice5 voices deep
Canto 1
Canto 2
Canto 3
Canto 4
Canto 5
Canto 6
Canto 7
Canto 8
Canto 9
Canto 10
Canto 11
Canto 12

SB 11.3 · 4 voices deep

Liberation from the Illusory Energy

The frames this chapter sits inside, outermost first. Choose one to read its note and the verse where its voice begins.

Inside Nārada's answer: the nine sons of Ṛṣabhadeva answer King Nimi's nine questions.

Where this voice begins

“Śrī Kavi said: I consider that one whose intelligence is constantly disturbed by his falsely identifying himself with the temporary material world can achieve real freedom from fear only by worshiping the lotus feet of the infallible Supreme Lord.”

In the translation

Voices in this chapter

Each verse whose translation opens by naming its speaker, in order. Repeated openings by the same speaker are grouped.

  1. 11.3.1King Nimi
  2. 11.3.3Śrī Antarīkṣa
  3. 11.3.17King Nimi
  4. 11.3.18Śrī Prabuddha
  5. 11.3.34King Nimi
  6. 11.3.35Śrī Pippalāyana
  7. 11.3.41King Nimi
  8. 11.3.43Śrī Āvirhotra

The frames come from where the translation itself says who is speaking (“Śukadeva Gosvāmī said …”). Their exact start and end verses, the episode labels and the setting bands are study aids, not words of the scripture; Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on each verse is always the final word.