Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.3.2
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesHearing About Kṛṣṇa Is Medicine and Joy
“Although I am drinking the nectar of your statements about the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, my thirst is not yet satiated. Such nectarean descriptions of the Lord and His devotees are the actual medicine for conditioned souls like me, who are tormented by the threefold miseries of material existence.”
What the purport teaches
- Descriptions of the Lord and His devotees are medicine for souls tormented by material miseries. King Nimi hears this nectar yet remains eager for more.
- Unlike material medicine, hearing about the Lord is not abandoned after the suffering is cured. Chanting and hearing Lord Kṛṣṇa’s glories are both the means and the end of transcendental bliss.
- Even those free from material desires are attracted to loving service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although a great devotee, King Nimi humbly considers himself an ordinary conditioned soul.
Try this today
Spend five minutes reading aloud about Kṛṣṇa’s glories, giving your attention to hearing.
Ask yourself
Do I approach hearing about Kṛṣṇa only for relief, or also for the joy of loving service?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.