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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 3: Kṛṣṇa Is the Source of All Incarnations
1.3.381.3.40

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.3.39

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 1.3.1inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

अथेह धन्या भगवन्त इत्थं

यद्वासुदेवेऽखिललोकनाथे ।

कुर्वन्ति सर्वात्मकमात्मभावं

न यत्र भूय: परिवर्त उग्र: ॥ ३९ ॥

atheha dhanyā bhagavanta itthaṁ

yad vāsudeve ’khila-loka-nāthe

kurvanti sarvātmakam ātma-bhāvaṁ

na yatra bhūyaḥ parivarta ugraḥ

Translation

Only by making such inquiries in this world can one be successful and perfectly cognizant, for such inquiries invoke transcendental ecstatic love unto the Personality of Godhead, who is the proprietor of all the universes, and guarantee cent-percent immunity from the dreadful repetition of birth and death.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Spiritual Inquiry Awakens Love for God

  1. 1

    Sūta Gosvāmī praises the transcendental inquiries of the sages headed by Śaunaka. Such inquiries awaken ecstatic love for the Personality of Godhead, the proprietor of all universes.

  2. 2

    The Personality of Godhead is the final understanding of the Absolute Truth. Knowledge of Him includes impersonal Brahman and localized Paramātmā, the Supersoul.

  3. 3

    Devotees are successful because they know the Lord and His spiritual nature. A fully devoted servant of the Lord is free from the dreadful miseries of repeated birth and death.

Key points from the purport
  • As already concluded, only the devotees of the Lord can know Him to a considerable extent, and no one else can know Him at all, so the devotees are perfectly cognizant of all spiritual knowledge.
  • So one who knows the Personality of Godhead can automatically know all about Him, His multipotencies and His expansions.
  • A cent-percent devotee of the Lord is immune to the dreadful material miseries of repeated birth and death.

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 3: Kṛṣṇa Is the Source of All Incarnations

Sūta describes the Lord’s incarnations and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as His literary incarnation.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. athathus
  2. ihain this world
  3. dhanyāḥsuccessful
  4. bhagavantaḥperfectly cognizant
  5. itthamsuch
  6. yatwhat
  7. vāsudeveunto the Personality of Godhead
  8. akhilaall-embracing
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “inquiries”, “knowledge”, “absolute truth”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “love”, “ecstatic”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “death”

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

Are my spiritual questions helping me develop love for the Personality of Godhead?

Practice

Write down one sincere question about the Personality of Godhead that you wish to understand in order to deepen your devotion.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySpiritual Inquiry Awakens Love for GodThis 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 1.3.39? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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