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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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 6: Conversation Between Nārada and Vyāsadeva

1.6.31 1.6.33

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.6.32

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Nārada Munisince 1.6.5inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaNārada Muni → Vyāsadeva

देवदत्तामिमां वीणां स्वरब्रह्मविभूषिताम् ।

मूर्च्छयित्वा हरिकथां गायमानश्चराम्यहम् ॥ ३२ ॥

deva-dattām imāṁ vīṇāṁ

svara-brahma-vibhūṣitām

mūrcchayitvā hari-kathāṁ

gāyamānaś carāmy aham

Translation

And thus I travel, constantly singing the transcendental message of the glories of the Lord, vibrating this instrument called a vīṇā, which is charged with transcendental sound and which was given to me by Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Use Sound in the Lord’s Service

1
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa gave Nārada his vīṇā. The instrument and its sound are transcendental, as are the Lord’s glories and pastimes that it broadcasts.
2
Nārada fulfills his obligation to the Lord for this gift by constantly singing His transcendental glories. This service keeps him infallible in his exalted position.
3
Following Nārada’s footsteps, a self-realized soul should use musical sounds in the Lord’s service. Their proper purpose is to sing His transcendental glories.

Key points from the purport

Sound vibrated by the instrument cannot be material, and therefore the glories and pastimes which are broadcast by the instrument of Nārada are also transcendental, without a tinge of material inebriety.
As a pure devotee of the Lord, Śrī Nāradadeva is always fulfilling his obligation to the Lord for His gift of the instrument, and thus he is always engaged in singing His transcendental glories and is therefore infallible in his exalted position.
Following in the footsteps of Śrīla Nārada Muni, a self-realized soul in the material world should also properly use the sound meters, namely ṣa, ṛ, gā, ma, etc., in the service of the Lord by constantly singing the glories of the Lord, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā.

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