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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
11.19.20-2411.19.26

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.19.25

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

यदात्मन्यर्पितं चित्तं शान्तं सत्त्वोपबृंहितम् ।

धर्मं ज्ञानं सवैराग्यमैश्वर्यं चाभिपद्यते ॥ २५ ॥

yadātmany arpitaṁ cittaṁ

śāntaṁ sattvopabṛṁhitam

dharmaṁ jñānaṁ sa vairāgyam

aiśvaryaṁ cābhipadyate

Translation

When one’s peaceful consciousness, strengthened by the mode of goodness, is fixed on the Personality of Godhead, one achieves religiosity, knowledge, detachment and opulence.

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.

Peace Through Pure Devotion

  1. 1

    A pure devotee becomes peaceful by desiring everything for the Lord’s service and nothing for himself. Strengthened by purified goodness, he achieves the supreme religious principle of directly serving the Lord.

  2. 2

    The pure devotee gains knowledge of the Lord’s form and his own spiritual body. He also gains detachment from material piety and sin, and the opulences of the spiritual world.

  3. 3

    Devotion mixed with fascination for mystic knowledge brings lesser results through material goodness. Pure devotion should be the goal, since even the best material rewards are insignificant beside the kingdom of God.

Key points from the purport
  • He is strengthened by the transcendental, or purified, mode of goodness and thus achieves the supreme religious principle of directly serving the Lord.
  • One who is not a pure devotee of the Lord, however, but whose devotion is mixed with a fascination for mystic knowledge, is strengthened by the material mode of goodness.
  • Through his meditation on the Lord he achieves the lesser results of dharma (piety in the mode of goodness), jñāna (knowledge of spirit and matter) and vairāgya (detachment from the lower modes of nature).

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. yadāwhen
  2. ātmaniin the Supreme Lord
  3. arpitamfixed
  4. cittamconsciousness
  5. śāntampeaceful
  6. sattvaby the mode of goodness
  7. upabṛṁhitamstrengthened
  8. dharmamreligiosity
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

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 11.19

    In this verse: “religiosity”, “religious”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 11.19

    In this verse: “devotion”, “devotee”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

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

    In this verse: “detachment”

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

Am I seeking something for myself, or seeking the opportunity to serve the Lord?

Practice

Choose one action today and undertake it for the Lord’s service rather than for personal reward.

Live this todayPeace Through Pure DevotionThis 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 11.19.25? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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