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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 5: Nārada’s Instructions on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for Vyāsadeva
1.5.151.5.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.5.16

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 1.5.8inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaNārada Muni → Vyāsadeva

विचक्षणोऽस्यार्हति वेदितुं विभो-

रनन्तपारस्य निवृत्तित: सुखम् ।

प्रवर्तमानस्य गुणैरनात्मन-

स्ततो भवान्दर्शय चेष्टितं विभो: ॥ १६ ॥

vicakṣaṇo ’syārhati vedituṁ vibhor

ananta-pārasya nivṛttitaḥ sukham

pravartamānasya guṇair anātmanas

tato bhavān darśaya ceṣṭitaṁ vibhoḥ

Translation

The Supreme Lord is unlimited. Only a very expert personality, retired from the activities of material happiness, deserves to understand this knowledge of spiritual values. Therefore those who are not so well situated, due to material attachment, should be shown the ways of transcendental realization, by Your Goodness, through descriptions of the transcendental activities of the Supreme Lord.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hearing the Lord’s Activities Purifies Us

  1. 1

    Understanding the transcendental nature of God is difficult for those deeply attached to material activities. Nārada therefore advises Vyāsadeva to teach the science of God by describing His transcendental activities.

  2. 2

    Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the literary incarnation of the Lord. By hearing its narrations, even ordinary people can associate with Him and gradually become purified from material diseases.

  3. 3

    Devotional service is dynamic activity. Expert devotees find suitable ways, according to time and circumstance, to help others take up the Lord’s service.

Key points from the purport
  • Only the very expert, who have almost retired from materialistic activities by culture of spiritual knowledge, can be admitted to the study of this great science.
  • Śrī Vyāsadeva is therefore advised by Nārada to describe the science of God directly by relating His transcendental activities.
  • Such transcendental activities of the devotees for the service of the Lord can bring a new order of life to the foolish society of materialistic men.

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

Dissatisfaction → Inspired clarity. Even great accomplishment leaves Vyāsa without contentment until devotion is centered.

Chapters 4–6 of Canto 1: Vyāsa is dissatisfied; Nārada directs him to the Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 5: Nārada’s Instructions on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for Vyāsadeva

Nārada urges Vyāsadeva to describe the Lord’s glories and recalls his own service to sages.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. vicakṣaṇaḥvery expert
  2. asyaof him
  3. arhatideserves
  4. veditumto understand
  5. vibhoḥof the Lord
  6. ananta-pārasyaof the unlimited
  7. nivṛttitaḥretired from
  8. sukhammaterial happiness
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 1.5

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understand”, “understanding”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 1.5

    In this verse: “attachment”, “material”, “attached”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.5

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotees”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might hearing about the Lord become more important in my daily life?

Practice

Spend five minutes today hearing or reading a narration of the Lord’s transcendental activities in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it · quoted in 1 more lecture. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 1 other lecture

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayHearing the Lord’s Activities Purifies UsThis 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 1.5.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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