Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.9.1
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesHear Vedic Knowledge From Authorities
“Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Viśvarūpa, who was engaged as the priest of the demigods, had three heads. He used one to drink the beverage soma-rasa, another to drink wine and the third to eat food. O King Parīkṣit, thus I have heard from authorities.”
What the purport teaches
- Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes Viśvarūpa’s three heads on the authority of what he has heard, not from personal observation.
- Direct experience cannot teach us what lies beyond the range of human perception. The purport therefore stresses hearing from authorities.
- Vedic knowledge is called śruti because it is received by hearing from authorities. This is the Vedic system of receiving knowledge.
Try this today
Read the translation aloud once, noticing Śukadeva Gosvāmī’s acknowledgment of his sources.
Ask yourself
How willing am I to learn through authoritative hearing rather than relying only on personal experience?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.