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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

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

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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 11 · Chapter 13: The Haṁsa-avatāra Answers the Questions of the Sons of Brahmā

11.13.14 11.13.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.13.15

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Uddhavasince 11.13.15inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → Uddhava

श्रीउद्धव उवाच

यदा त्वं सनकादिभ्यो येन रूपेण केशव ।

योगमादिष्टवानेतद् रूपमिच्छामि वेदितुम् ॥ १५ ॥

śrī-uddhava uvāca

yadā tvaṁ sanakādibhyo

yena rūpeṇa keśava

yogam ādiṣṭavān etad

rūpam icchāmi veditum

Translation

Śrī Uddhava said: My dear Keśava, at what time and in what form did You instruct the science of yoga to Sanaka and his brothers? I now desire to know about these things.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Desire to Hear the Lord's Instructions

1
Śrī Uddhava addresses the Lord as Keśava and expresses his desire to know more.
2
He asks when the Lord taught the science of yoga to Sanaka and his brothers.
3
He also asks in what form the Lord gave those instructions.

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

Chapter 13: The Haṁsa-avatāra Answers the Questions of the Sons of Brahmā

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The three modes increase their different influences through various types of scripture, water, place, time, beneficiaries of activity, natures of activity, birth, meditation, mantras, purificatory rituals, and so on. Lacking discrimination, one identifies with the material body, and consequently the mode of passion, which produces misery, takes over the mind, which is normally in the mode of goodness.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 11.13