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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 8: Prayers by Queen Kuntī and Parīkṣit Saved
1.8.351.8.37

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.8.36

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Queen Kuntīsince 1.8.18inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

श‍ृण्वन्ति गायन्ति गृणन्त्यभीक्ष्णश:

स्मरन्ति नन्दन्ति तवेहितं जना: ।

त एव पश्यन्त्यचिरेण तावकं

भवप्रवाहोपरमं पदाम्बुजम् ॥ ३६ ॥

śṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanty abhīkṣṇaśaḥ

smaranti nandanti tavehitaṁ janāḥ

ta eva paśyanty acireṇa tāvakaṁ

bhava-pravāhoparamaṁ padāmbujam

Translation

O Kṛṣṇa, those who continuously hear, chant and repeat Your transcendental activities, or take pleasure in others’ doing so, certainly see Your lotus feet, which alone can stop the 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.

Hear From Genuine Sources to See Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    Śrī Kṛṣṇa cannot be seen as the Supreme Personality of Godhead through our present conditioned vision. The necessary vision develops through devotional service and spontaneous love of Godhead.

  2. 2

    Hearing about the Lord from the right sources is the essential beginning. Choose a competent, bona fide speaker who follows devotional service, rather than relying on academic learning alone.

  3. 3

    All the Lord’s activities are transcendental and spiritually beneficial to hear. Hear progressively from the beginning, without treating His dealings with the Pāṇḍavas as less important than His dealings with the gopīs.

Key points from the purport
  • There are different transcendental activities of the Lord, and each and every one of them is competent to bestow the desired result, provided the hearing process is perfect.
  • In the Bhāgavatam the activities of the Lord begin from His dealings with the Pāṇḍavas.
  • In all the above-mentioned dealings of the Lord, He is the hero in all circumstances, and hearing about Him or about His devotees or combatants is conducive to spiritual life.

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

Grief → Trust. Violence and bereavement make Kṛṣṇa's protective presence precious.

Chapters 7–9 of Canto 1: Postwar anguish, Kuntī and Bhīṣma. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 8: Prayers by Queen Kuntī and Parīkṣit Saved

Kṛṣṇa protects Parīkṣit, Kuntī prays for undivided attraction to Him, and Yudhiṣṭhira grieves.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.8
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śṛṇvantihear
  2. gāyantichant
  3. gṛṇantitake
  4. abhīkṣṇaśaḥcontinuously
  5. smarantiremember
  6. nandantitake pleasure
  7. tavaYour
  8. īhitamactivities
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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 1.8

    In this verse: “chant”, “hearing”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 1.8

    In this verse: “death”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.8

    In this verse: “devotional service”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I choose what I hear about Kṛṣṇa by the speaker’s devotion and faithfulness to the text?

Practice

Spend five minutes reading this translation and purport aloud, attending carefully to their meaning.

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.

7

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 1.8's connections

Live this todayHear From Genuine Sources to See KṛṣṇaThis 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 1.8.36? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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