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

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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.84.11

Who is speaking and story frame

न ह्यम्मयानि तीर्थानि न देवा मृच्छिलामया: ।

ते पुनन्त्युरुकालेन दर्शनादेव साधव: ॥ ११ ॥

na hy am-mayāni tīrthāni

na devā mṛc-chilā-mayāḥ

te punanty uru-kālena

darśanād eva sādhavaḥ

Translation

Mere bodies of water are not the real sacred places of pilgrimage, nor are mere images of earth and stone the true worshipable deities. These purify one only after a long time, but saintly sages purify one immediately upon being seen.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Saintly Association Brings Immediate Purification

  1. 1

    The Personality of Godhead is absolute. His representation in stone, paint, sound or another authorized medium is nondifferent from His original form in Goloka Vṛndāvana.

  2. 2

    Demigods are infinitesimal spirit souls, and their representations are not identical with them. Demigod worship and ritual bathing give limited benefit to those lacking transcendental faith in the Supreme Lord.

  3. 3

    Great Vaiṣṇava saints are always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and are living places of pilgrimage. Even a moment’s association, especially hearing their glorification of the Lord, can deliver one from material entanglement.

Key points from the purport
  • Because the Personality of Godhead is absolute — the Supreme Spirit — any representation of Him, whether manifested in stone, paint, sound or any other authorized medium, is nondifferent from His original form in the topmost spiritual planet, Goloka Vṛndāvana.
  • But ordinary demigods are not absolute, being infinitesimal spirit souls, and thus representations of the demigods are not identical with them.
  • On the other hand, great Vaiṣṇava saints like Vyāsadeva, Nārada and the four Kumāras are always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thus they are veritable moving tīrthas, places of pilgrimage.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 10.84.11 quotesSB 1.13.10

Because you carry the Personality of Godhead within your heart, you turn all places into places of pilgrimage.”

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Humility and separation → Friendship and reunion. The sweetness of relationship outweighs prestige.

Chapters 80–86 of Canto 10: Sudāmā and reunion with the residents of Vraja. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 84: The Sages’ Teachings at Kurukṣetra

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The water at a holy place of pilgrimage and the deity forms of the gods can purify one only after a long time, but saintly sages purify just by being seen. Those who identify themselves with their bodies and neglect to honor transcendental sages like you are no better than asses.”
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.84
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nanot
  2. hiindeed
  3. apof water
  4. mayānicomposed
  5. tīrthāniholy places
  6. nanot
  7. devāḥdeities
  8. mṛtof earth
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.84

    In this verse: “worshipable”, “worship”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 10.84

    In this verse: “hearing”, “glorification”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 10.84

    In this verse: “purify”

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

Do I seek the company and teachings of saints as eagerly as I seek sacred places?

Practice

Spend a few minutes hearing or reading a pure Vaiṣṇava’s glorification of the Lord.

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.

Live this todaySaintly Association Brings Immediate PurificationThis 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 10.84.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.