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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
1.11.371.11.39

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.11.38

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

एतदीशनमीशस्य प्रकृतिस्थोऽपि तद्गुणै: ।

न युज्यते सदात्मस्थैर्यथा बुद्धिस्तदाश्रया ॥ ३८ ॥

etad īśanam īśasya

prakṛti-stho ’pi tad-guṇaiḥ

na yujyate sadātma-sthair

yathā buddhis tad-āśrayā

Translation

This is the divinity of the Personality of Godhead: He is not affected by the qualities of material nature, even though He is in contact with them. Similarly, the devotees who have taken shelter of the Lord do not become influenced by the material qualities.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Shelter Transcends Material Influence

  1. 1

    The Personality of Godhead is nirguṇa, beyond the qualities of material nature. Although He is the ultimate source of everything, He remains above the actions of those qualities.

  2. 2

    First-grade devotees are not contaminated by honor or insult, hunger or satisfaction. Even when engaged in worldly dealings, they remain spiritually unaffected through shelter of the Lord.

  3. 3

    The Lord protects an unalloyed devotee who is fully engaged in His devotional service. A fall caused by previous material contamination is accidental and temporary, and will soon vanish.

Key points from the purport
  • The answer is that the divinity of the Personality of Godhead is never in contact with the qualities of material nature in any circumstances.
  • Even His learned devotees are not affected by the influence of the material modes.
  • The devotees of the Lord are always transcendental, even if they are sometimes found to have fallen in their behavior.

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

Connected verses· 3

The purport of SB 1.11.38 quotesBG 9.30

The Lord emphatically declares in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.30) that even if an unalloyed devotee is found to be fallen due to a previous material contamination, he is nevertheless to be accepted as fully transcendental because of his being engaged cent percent in the devotional service of the Lord.

Quoted in the purport ofCC Ādi 2.55

This text is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.11.38). Those who have taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead do not identify with the material world, even while living in it.

Quoted in the purport ofCC Ādi 5.87

This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.11.38).

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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. etatthis
  2. īśanamdivinity
  3. īśasyaof the Personality of Godhead
  4. prakṛti-sthaḥbeing in contact with material nature
  5. apiin spite of
  6. tat-guṇaiḥby the qualities
  7. nanever
  8. yujyateis affected
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.11

    In this verse: “devotees”, “devotional service”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 1.11

    In this verse: “shelter”

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

How much do honor and insult distract me from devotional service?

Practice

If praise or criticism comes today, pause and return your attention to one small act of service to the Lord.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

Quoted in 7 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 7 lectures

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

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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 todayThe Lord’s Shelter Transcends Material InfluenceThis 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 1.11.38? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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