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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 19: The Perfection of Spiritual Knowledge
11.18.4811.19.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.19.1

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 11.19.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → Uddhava

श्रीभगवानुवाच

यो विद्याश्रुतसम्पन्न: आत्मवान् नानुमानिक: ।

मायामात्रमिदं ज्ञात्वा ज्ञानं च मयि सन्न्यसेत् ॥ १ ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

yo vidyā-śruta-sampannaḥ

ātmavān nānumānikaḥ

māyā-mātram idaṁ jñātvā

jñānaṁ ca mayi sannyaset

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: A self-realized person who has cultivated scriptural knowledge up to the point of enlightenment and who is free from impersonal speculation, understanding the material universe to be simply illusion, should surrender unto Me both that knowledge and the means by which he achieved it.

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.

Surrender Knowledge in Loving Service

  1. 1

    The eternal spirit soul and the eternal Personality of Godhead are separate from the temporary qualities of the material world. Spiritual knowledge helps free us from false identification with the body and mind.

  2. 2

    Vedic knowledge should be cultivated for enlightenment, not to display intellectual ability or encourage impersonal speculation.

  3. 3

    Once knowledge has counteracted illusion, one should surrender that knowledge and its methods to the Lord. The goal is loving service to Kṛṣṇa, not continued absorption in the details of illusion.

Key points from the purport
  • Māyā-mātram idaṁ jñātvā indicates knowledge that the eternal spirit soul and the eternal Personality of Godhead are completely separate from the temporary qualities of the material world.
  • The word vidyā-śruta-sampanna means that one should cultivate Vedic knowledge for the purpose of enlightenment and not to make a show of mysticism, intellectuality or impersonal speculation.
  • Cultivating desirelessness and renunciation by practice of the mystic yoga system, the living entity develops knowledge of illusion and may thus lift himself above the reach of material ignorance.

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 19: The Perfection of Spiritual Knowledge

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

He instead engages himself in trying to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all. This is pure bhakti-yoga.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.19
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-bhagavān uvācathe Supreme Personality of Godhead said
  2. yaḥone who
  3. vidyāwith realized knowledge
  4. śrutaand preliminary scriptural knowledge
  5. sampannaḥendowed
  6. ātma-vānself-realized
  7. nanot
  8. ānumānikaḥengaged in impersonal speculation
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 11.19

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understanding”, “spirit soul”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 11.19

    In this verse: “illusion”, “material”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 11.19

    In this verse: “free from”

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

Is my spiritual study drawing me toward loving service, or toward displaying what I know?

Practice

Before studying today, pause and offer your effort to Kṛṣṇa as preparation for loving service.

Live this todaySurrender Knowledge in Loving ServiceThis 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 11.19.1? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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