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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
11.19.811.19.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.19.9

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Uddhavasince 11.19.8inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → Uddhava

तापत्रयेणाभिहतस्य घोरे

सन्तप्यमानस्य भवाध्वनीश ।

पश्यामि नान्यच्छरणं तवाङ्‍‍घ्रि-

द्वन्द्वातपत्रादमृताभिवर्षात् ॥ ९ ॥

tāpa-trayeṇābhihatasya ghore

santapyamānasya bhavādhvanīśa

paśyāmi nānyac charaṇaṁ tavāṅghri-

dvandvātapatrād amṛtābhivarṣāt

Translation

My dear Lord, for one who is being tormented on the terrible path of birth and death and is constantly overwhelmed by the threefold miseries, I do not see any possible shelter other than Your two lotus feet, which are just like a refreshing umbrella that pours down showers of delicious nectar.

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.

Take Shelter of Kṛṣṇa’s Lotus Feet

  1. 1

    Transcendental knowledge must lead to loving devotional service; otherwise it is useless. Actual happiness comes through surrender to Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

  2. 2

    Uddhava compares the Lord’s lotus feet to a refreshing umbrella showering delicious nectar. They are the shelter for one overwhelmed by the miseries of material existence.

  3. 3

    The bliss of impersonal merging cannot compare with the bliss of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is perfect knowledge because Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate shelter of all living entities.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa, recognizing Uddhava’s highly intellectual nature, has repeatedly recommended to him that one should achieve perfection by cultivation of transcendental knowledge.
  • The Lord’s two lotus feet are similarly compared here to a wonderful umbrella that produces a constant shower of delicious nectar, the bliss of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
  • By our intelligence we should look beyond the dull material body and nonsensical material mind to observe the unlimited shower of blissful nectar coming from the two lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

Quoted in the purport ofSB 11.11.48

“My dear Lord, for one who is being cruelly burned in the blazing fire of material miseries, having fallen into the network of material existence, I do not see any other possible shelter besides Your two lotus feet, which are a shower of nectar extinguishing the fire of suffering.”

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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:

The Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, stated to Uddhava, “One who is actually wise, who knows the truth of the self and possesses transcendental insight, rejects this world of dualities and the so-called knowledge meant for facilitating enjoyment of it. He instead engages himself in trying to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.19
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tāpaby the miseries
  2. trayeṇathreefold
  3. abhihatasyaof one overwhelmed
  4. ghorewhich is terrible
  5. santapyamānasyabeing tormented
  6. bhavaof material existence
  7. adhvaniin the path
  8. īśaO Lord
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 11.19

    In this verse: “shelter”, “surrender”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 11.19

    In this verse: “death”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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

When difficulties overwhelm me, do I turn toward Kṛṣṇa as my ultimate shelter?

Practice

Bring one present worry into a brief prayer, asking for shelter at Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

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 11.19's connections

Live this todayTake Shelter of Kṛṣṇa’s Lotus FeetThis 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 11.19.9? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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