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

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Canto 1 · Creation · 19 chapters

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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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 13: Dhṛtarāṣṭra Quits Home

1.13.39 1.13.41

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.13.40

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhirasince 1.13.39inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

कर्णधार इवापारे भगवान् पारदर्शक: ।

अथाबभाषे

भगवान् नारदो मुनिसत्तम: ॥ ४० ॥

karṇadhāra ivāpāre

bhagavān pāra-darśakaḥ

athābabhāṣe bhagavān

nārado muni-sattamaḥ

Translation

You are like a captain of a ship in a great ocean and you can direct us to our destination. Thus addressed, the godly personality, Devarṣi Nārada, greatest of the philosopher devotees, began to speak.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Pure Devotees Guide Us Beyond Ignorance

1
The greatest philosophers have seen the Personality of Godhead and surrendered themselves in transcendental loving service to Him. Devarṣi Nārada is chief among such pure devotees.
2
A learned philosopher devotee hears Vedānta philosophy from a bona fide spiritual master. Faithfulness, learning and renunciation are necessary qualities of a pure devotee.
3
A pure devotee can guide us beyond ignorance, like a captain guiding a ship across the ocean. Nārada was always ready to give the Pāṇḍavas good counsel.

Key points from the purport

Among all such pure devotees of the Lord, Devarṣi Nārada is the chief, and therefore he has been described herein as the greatest of all philosopher devotees.
One must be very faithful, learned and renounced, otherwise one cannot be a pure devotee.
Devarṣi Nārada used to visit the palace of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira because the Pāṇḍavas were all pure devotees of the Lord, and the Devarṣi was always ready to give them good counsel whenever needed.

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

Bereavement → Renunciation. The worldly support system recedes and attachment is exposed.

Chapters 13–15 of Canto 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra departs; Kṛṣṇa disappears; Pāṇḍavas retire. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 13: Dhṛtarāṣṭra Quits Home

Vidura warns of inevitable death; Dhṛtarāṣṭra leaves home, and Yudhiṣṭhira finds his elders absent.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.13

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

karṇa-dhāraḥcaptain of the ship
ivalike
apārein the extensive oceans
bhagavānrepresentative of the Lord
pāra-darśakaḥone who can give directions to the other side
athathus
ābabhāṣebegan to say
bhagavānthe godly personality
nāradaḥthe great sage Nārada
muni-sat-tamaḥthe greatest among the devotee philosophers

Key ideas in this verse

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

Īśānukathā · The science of God
Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 1.13
In this verse: “philosopher”, “philosophers”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.13
In this verse: “devotees”
Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender
Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 1.13
In this verse: “surrendered”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How willing are you to receive guidance from a pure devotee rather than rely only on your own judgment?

Practice

Spend five minutes carefully reading this purport, and note one instruction that can guide your service to the Lord.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPure Devotees Guide Us Beyond IgnoranceThis 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 1.13.40? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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