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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 2: Divinity and Divine Service
1.2.211.2.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.2.22

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 1.2.2inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

अतो वै कवयो नित्यं भक्तिं परमया मुदा ।

वासुदेवे भगवति कुर्वन्त्यात्मप्रसादनीम् ॥ २२ ॥

ato vai kavayo nityaṁ

bhaktiṁ paramayā mudā

vāsudeve bhagavati

kurvanty ātma-prasādanīm

Translation

Certainly, therefore, since time immemorial, all transcendentalists have been rendering devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, with great delight, because such devotional service is enlivening to the self.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Service to Kṛṣṇa Enlivens the Self

  1. 1

    Since time immemorial, transcendentalists have served Lord Kṛṣṇa with great delight. Devotional service to Him enlivens the self.

  2. 2

    Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Other forms of Godhead are His plenary portions and integrated parts, while living entities are His separated parts and parcels.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa’s eternal pastimes offer intimate personal contact that attracts the higher transcendentalists. These pastimes are not newly invented; they eternally exist and become manifest in due course.

Key points from the purport
  • The speciality of devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is specifically mentioned herein.
  • Therefore Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original form of Godhead, and He is the last word in the Transcendence.
  • In forms of the Personality of Godhead other than Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva, there is no facility for intimate personal contact as in the transcendental pastimes of the Lord at Vrajabhūmi.

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

Concern → Purpose. A spiritually urgent question emerges for the age of Kali.

Chapters 1–3 of Canto 1: The sages ask the ultimate questions. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 2: Divinity and Divine Service

Sūta explains how hearing about Kṛṣṇa and rendering devotional service purify the heart.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.2
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ataḥtherefore
  2. vaicertainly
  3. kavayaḥall transcendentalists
  4. nityamfrom time immemorial
  5. bhaktimservice unto the Lord
  6. paramayāsupreme
  7. mudāwith great delight
  8. vāsudeveŚrī 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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.2

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 1.2

    In this verse: “separated”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does this verse teach me about the connection between devotional service and true delight?

Practice

Perform one small act of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa today, remembering that such service enlivens the self.

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 todayService to Kṛṣṇa Enlivens the SelfThis 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 1.2.22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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