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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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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 6: Conversation Between Nārada and Vyāsadeva
1.6.331.6.35

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.6.34

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 1.6.5inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaNārada Muni → Vyāsadeva

एतद्ध्यातुरचित्तानां मात्रास्पर्शेच्छया मुहु: ।

भवसिन्धुप्लवो द‍ृष्टो हरिचर्यानुवर्णनम् ॥ ३४ ॥

etad dhy ātura-cittānāṁ

mātrā-sparśecchayā muhuḥ

bhava-sindhu-plavo dṛṣṭo

hari-caryānuvarṇanam

Translation

It is personally experienced by me that those who are always full of cares and anxieties due to desiring contact of the senses with their objects can cross the ocean of nescience on a most suitable boat — the constant chanting of the transcendental activities of the Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Change the Subject to the Lord

  1. 1

    Thinking and talking about sense enjoyment do not bring lasting satisfaction. Under the influence of māyā, people accept what cannot satisfy them as a source of satisfaction.

  2. 2

    We need not stop thinking, feeling or working; we need to change their subject matter. Nārada recommends constantly recounting the Lord’s activities.

  3. 3

    The Lord mercifully manifests His activities so conditioned souls can turn their attention to transcendence. Recounting them is a suitable boat for crossing the ocean of ignorance and misery.

Key points from the purport
  • But as these things are exercised under the influence of the external, illusory energy, such sensual activities do not actually give them any satisfaction.
  • So Nārada Muni, by his personal experience, says that satisfaction for such frustrated beings engaged in sense gratification is to chant always the activities of the Lord.
  • Instead of relishing activities of the cinema artists, one can turn his attention to the activities of the Lord with His eternal associates like the gopīs and Lakṣmīs.

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 6: Conversation Between Nārada and Vyāsadeva

Nārada recounts seeing Kṛṣṇa within his heart and becoming fixed in unbroken devotional service.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.6
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. etatthis
  2. hicertainly
  3. ātura-cittānāmof those whose minds are always full of cares and anxieties
  4. mātrāobjects of sense enjoyment
  5. sparśasenses
  6. icchayāby desires
  7. muhuḥalways
  8. bhava-sindhuthe ocean of nescience
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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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 1.6

    In this verse: “chanting”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 1.6

    In this verse: “māyā”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 1.6

    In this verse: “mercifully”

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

Which subject that occupies my thoughts leaves me anxious rather than satisfied?

Practice

Replace a few minutes of talk about sense enjoyment with reading aloud about the Lord’s activities.

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 1.6's connections

Live this todayChange the Subject to the LordThis 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 1.6.34? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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