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

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Canto 11 · General History · 31 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 11 · Chapter 12: Beyond Renunciation and Knowledge
11.12.1111.12.13

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.12.12

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 11.12.1-2inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → Uddhava

ता नाविदन् मय्यनुषङ्गबद्ध-

धिय: स्वमात्मानमदस्तथेदम् ।

यथा समाधौ मुनयोऽब्धितोये

नद्य: प्रविष्टा इव नामरूपे ॥ १२ ॥

tā nāvidan mayy anuṣaṅga-baddha-

dhiyaḥ svam ātmānam adas tathedam

yathā samādhau munayo ’bdhi-toye

nadyaḥ praviṣṭā iva nāma-rūpe

Translation

My dear Uddhava, just as great sages in yoga trance merge into self-realization, like rivers merging into the ocean, and are thus not aware of material names and forms, similarly, the gopīs of Vṛndāvana were so completely attached to Me within their minds that they could not think of their own bodies, or of this world, or of their future lives. Their entire consciousness was simply bound up in Me.

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.

Bind the Heart to Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    The gopīs’ entire consciousness was bound up in Kṛṣṇa. Their own bodies seemed distant because they were so completely absorbed in love for Him.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of everything, and the gopīs are His own potency. Concentrating all love on Him is therefore neither ignorance nor small-mindedness.

  3. 3

    The comparison with sages in samādhi illustrates only exclusive concentration; it does not equate their meditation with the gopīs’ ecstatic love. Sincere devotees should remove whatever impedes their progress toward Kṛṣṇa.

Key points from the purport
  • The basic explanation is that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the source of everything, and the gopīs are the Lord’s own potency.
  • Since all existence is situated within the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa, there is no loss for the gopīs when they concentrate on the Lord.
  • The gopīs did not deny anything; they simply loved Kṛṣṇa and could not think of anything else.

The purport'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

Uncertainty → Clarity. The coming separation makes the instruction personally urgent.

Chapters 10–20 of Canto 11: Kṛṣṇa's teachings on self, yoga and wisdom. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 12: Beyond Renunciation and Knowledge

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The young women of Vṛndāvana displayed such deep attachment to Lord Kṛṣṇa that their minds, which were overflowing with the ecstasy of being with Him, perceived an entire night spent in His company as just a fraction of a second. However, when Akrūra took Śrī Kṛṣṇa along with Baladeva to Mathurā, the gopīs then thought each night without Him to be equal in duration to a millennium of the demigods.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.12
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tāḥthey (the gopīs)
  2. nanot
  3. avidanwere aware of
  4. mayiin Me
  5. anuṣaṅgaby intimate contact
  6. baddhabound up
  7. dhiyaḥtheir consciousness
  8. svamtheir own
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 11.12

    In this verse: “attached”, “material”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 11.12

    In this verse: “love”, “ecstatic”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 11.12

    In this verse: “devotees”

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

What distraction most often interrupts my attention to Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Put aside one distraction during a short period of devotional service today.

5

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 11.12's connections

Live this todayBind the Heart to 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 11.12.12? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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