Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.3.14
Mukti· LiberationRoyal Histories Teach Knowledge and Renunciation
“Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O mighty Parīkṣit, I have related to you the narrations of all these great kings, who spread their fame throughout the world and then departed. My real purpose was to teach transcendental knowledge and renunciation. Stories of kings lend power and opulence to these narrations but do not in themselves constitute the ultimate aspect of knowledge.”
What the purport teaches
- Śukadeva Gosvāmī recounts the lives of famous kings who eventually departed in order to teach transcendental knowledge and renunciation.
- The power and opulence of kings enrich these narrations, but they are not the ultimate aspect of knowledge.
- All the narrations of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam give supreme spiritual lessons. In relation with Kṛṣṇa, ordinary topics become transcendental narrations that can bring the reader to life’s perfection.
Try this today
Reread one of today’s royal narrations and write one lesson about renunciation or its relation with Kṛṣṇa.
Ask yourself
Am I reading these histories mainly for their grandeur or for their spiritual lessons?
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.