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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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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 16: How Parīkṣit Received the Age of Kali
1.16.221.16.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.16.23

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 1.16.10inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

यद्वाम्ब ते भूरिभरावतार

कृतावतारस्य हरेर्धरित्रि ।

अन्तर्हितस्य स्मरती विसृष्टा

कर्माणि निर्वाणविलम्बितानि ॥ २३ ॥

yadvāmba te bhūri-bharāvatāra-

kṛtāvatārasya harer dharitri

antarhitasya smaratī visṛṣṭā

karmāṇi nirvāṇa-vilambitāni

Translation

O mother earth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, incarnated Himself as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa just to unload your heavy burden. All His activities here are transcendental, and they cement the path of liberation. You are now bereft of His presence. You are probably now thinking of those activities and feeling sorry in their absence.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Remembering Kṛṣṇa Leads Beyond Liberation

  1. 1

    Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appeared to lessen the earth’s burden. His activities are transcendental.

  2. 2

    The Lord’s activities include liberation, yet they are more relishable than the pleasure of liberation. Their sweetness minimizes the value of nirvāṇa.

  3. 3

    Simply by remembering His activities, one can reach the Lord’s transcendental abode. The goal is to associate with Him eternally in blissful loving service.

Key points from the purport
  • The activities of the Lord include liberation, but they are more relishable than the pleasure derived from nirvāṇa, or liberation.
  • To attain nirvāṇa, liberation, one has to undergo a severe type of tapasya, austerity, but the Lord is so merciful that He incarnates to diminish the burden of the earth.
  • Simply by remembering such activities, one can defy the pleasure derived from nirvāṇa and reach the transcendental abode of the Lord to associate with Him, eternally engaged in His blissful loving service.

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

Moral alarm → Resolve. The king's duty is tested in a deteriorating age.

Chapters 16–17 of Canto 1: Parīkṣit confronts Kali. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 16: How Parīkṣit Received the Age of Kali

Parīkṣit rules as a devotee while the personality of religion and mother earth discuss their distress.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yadvāthat may be
  2. ambaO mother
  3. teyour
  4. bhūriheavy
  5. bharaload
  6. avatāradecreasing the load
  7. kṛtadone
  8. avatārasyaone who incarnated
3

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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 1.16

    In this verse: “mother”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 1.16

    In this verse: “absence”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 1.16

    In this verse: “sweetness”

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

What draws me toward loving service to Kṛṣṇa rather than merely freedom from suffering?

Practice

Spend two quiet minutes remembering Kṛṣṇa’s mercy in appearing to lessen the earth’s burden.

5

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.

2 lectures given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Live this todayRemembering Kṛṣṇa Leads Beyond LiberationThis 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 1.16.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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