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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 19: The Appearance of Śukadeva Gosvāmī
1.19.191.19.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.19.20

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The sagessince 1.19.20inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

न वा इदं राजर्षिवर्य चित्रं

भवत्सु कृष्णं समनुव्रतेषु ।

येऽध्यासनं राजकिरीटजुष्टं

सद्यो जहुर्भगवत्पार्श्वकामा: ॥ २० ॥

na vā idaṁ rājarṣi-varya citraṁ

bhavatsu kṛṣṇaṁ samanuvrateṣu

ye ’dhyāsanaṁ rāja-kirīṭa-juṣṭaṁ

sadyo jahur bhagavat-pārśva-kāmāḥ

Translation

[The sages said:] O chief of all the saintly kings of the Pāṇḍu dynasty who are strictly in the line of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa! It is not at all astonishing that you give up your throne, which is decorated with the helmets of many kings, to achieve eternal association with the Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Choose Eternal Association Over Temporary Power

  1. 1

    Temporary positions are not the highest gain of life. Human life is meant for returning to the Lord’s eternal abode as His associate and servant.

  2. 2

    Materialistic life brings painful separation from loved ones and meetings with what is unwanted. Prahlāda Mahārāja therefore prayed for shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet.

  3. 3

    The Pāṇḍava kings strictly followed Lord Kṛṣṇa and were never captivated by their imperial thrones. Mahārāja Parīkṣit likewise gave up his throne, desiring eternal association with the Personality of Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • Foolish politicians who hold political administrative posts think that the temporary posts they occupy are the highest material gain of life, and therefore they stick to those posts even up to the last moment of life, without knowing that achievement of liberation as one of the associates of the Lord in His eternal abode is the highest gain of life.
  • We have fallen into this horrible whirlpool of the tossing waves of life, and thus, my Lord, I pray at Your lotus feet to call me back to Your eternal abode as one of Your servitors.
  • Thus the devotees of the Lord are never enchanted by the glare of materialistic life, and they live impartially, unattached to the objects of the false, illusory materialistic way of life.

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

Remorse and urgency → Surrender and inquiry. Seven days to live become the impetus for complete spiritual hearing.

Chapters 18–19 of Canto 1: Parīkṣit is cursed and welcomes Śukadeva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 19: The Appearance of Śukadeva Gosvāmī

Parīkṣit accepts impending death, sits beside the Ganges, and asks Śukadeva Gosvāmī about perfection.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.19
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. naneither
  2. vālike this
  3. idamthis
  4. rājarṣisaintly king
  5. varyathe chief
  6. citramastonishing
  7. bhavatsuunto all of you
  8. kṛṣṇamLord Kṛṣṇa
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 1.19

    In this verse: “give up”, “gave up”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 1.19

    In this verse: “kings”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 1.19

    In this verse: “shelter”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which temporary achievement most distracts me from seeking the Lord’s eternal association?

Practice

Take one quiet minute today to pray for shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet and the opportunity to serve Him.

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 1.19's connections

Live this todayChoose Eternal Association Over Temporary PowerThis 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 1.19.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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