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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 1 · Chapter 11: Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Entrance into Dvārakā
1.11.361.11.38

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.11.37

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The citizenssince 1.11.6inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

तमयं मन्यते लोको ह्यसङ्गमपि सङ्गिनम् ।

आत्मौपम्येन मनुजं व्यापृण्वानं यतोऽबुध: ॥ ३७ ॥

tam ayaṁ manyate loko

hy asaṅgam api saṅginam

ātmaupamyena manujaṁ

vyāpṛṇvānaṁ yato ’budhaḥ

Translation

The common materialistic conditioned souls speculate that the Lord is one of them. Out of their ignorance they think that the Lord is affected by matter, although He is unattached.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is Never Bound by Matter

  1. 1

    Conditioned souls mistakenly compare Kṛṣṇa with themselves and think He is affected by matter. This misunderstanding comes from judging the Lord by their own limited capacity.

  2. 2

    Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, completely independent. His form and actions are full of knowledge, bliss and eternity.

  3. 3

    The Lord descends by His own potency and causeless mercy, not under the conditions of material nature. His apparently ordinary activities never diminish His divine power or independence.

Key points from the purport
  • Due to ignorance only, the foolish mundane wranglers misunderstand the Supreme Lord and spread their foolish imaginations amongst innocent persons by propaganda.
  • Therefore, one who considers the Lord on the level of one’s limited potency is only a common man.
  • This means that due to ignorance only they always think of Lord Kṛṣṇa as like themselves and make their own conclusions, which are absurd and unauthentic from the version of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Longing → Joy and continuity. Departure and welcome coexist; Parīkṣit embodies continuity of grace.

Chapters 10–12 of Canto 1: Kṛṣṇa returns to Dvārakā; Parīkṣit is born. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 11: Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Entrance into Dvārakā

Dvārakā’s citizens and Kṛṣṇa’s family joyfully welcome Him home.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.11
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tamunto Lord Kṛṣṇa
  2. ayamall these (common men)
  3. manyatedo speculate within the mind
  4. lokaḥthe conditioned souls
  5. hicertainly
  6. asaṅgamunattached
  7. apiin spite of
  8. saṅginamaffected
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 1.11

    In this verse: “materialistic”, “material”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 1.11

    In this verse: “mercy”, “causeless”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 1.11

    In this verse: “knowledge”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

When do I assume that Kṛṣṇa must share my own limitations?

Practice

Reread the translation today and write down one difference between your limited capacity and the Lord’s independence.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 1.11's connections

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is Never Bound by MatterThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 1.11.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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