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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
11.19.1411.19.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.19.15

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 11.19.11inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → Uddhava

एतदेव हि विज्ञानं न तथैकेन येन यत् ।

स्थित्युत्पत्त्यप्ययान् पश्येद् भावानां त्रिगुणात्मनाम् ॥ १५ ॥

etad eva hi vijñānaṁ

na tathaikena yena yat

sthity-utpatty-apyayān paśyed

bhāvānāṁ tri-guṇātmanām

Translation

When one no longer sees the twenty-eight separated material elements, which arise from a single cause, but rather sees the cause itself, the Personality of Godhead — at that time one’s direct experience is called vijñāna, or self-realization.

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.

Make the Lord Your Central Attention

  1. 1

    Through jñāna, one learns that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all material manifestations. Yet one may still identify partly with the material body and mind.

  2. 2

    As realization matures, one recognizes the eternal soul and sees oneself as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. The Lord Himself becomes the central object of attention.

  3. 3

    Vijñāna means experiencing the Lord beyond His role as material creator, existing blissfully in His eternal abode. Such realization brings disinterest in objects that are created, maintained and destroyed.

Key points from the purport
  • In trying to understand the world he lives in, the conditioned soul learns through Vedic knowledge that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the one supreme cause of all material manifestations.
  • A self-realized soul in the stage of vijñāna thus experiences the Personality of Godhead not merely as the creator of the material world but as the supreme living entity existing blissfully in His own eternal context.
  • The stage of jñāna is the preliminary stage of knowledge for those still identifying themselves in terms of the material universe, whereas vijñāna is the mature stage of knowledge for those who see themselves as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord.

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. etatthis
  2. evaindeed
  3. hiactually
  4. vijñānamrealized knowledge
  5. nanot
  6. tathāin that way
  7. ekenaby the one (Personality of Godhead)
  8. yenaby whom
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 11.19

    In this verse: “separated”

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 helping me turn my attention toward the Lord Himself?

Practice

Spend one quiet minute reflecting on yourself as an eternal soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, rather than merely a body and mind.

Live this todayMake the Lord Your Central AttentionThis 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 11.19.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.