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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 2: Mahārāja Nimi Meets the Nine Yogendras
11.2.4511.2.47

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.2.46

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śrī Havirsince 11.2.45inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → VasudevaThe nine Yogendras → King Nimi

ईश्वरे तदधीनेषु बालिशेषु द्विषत्सु च ।

प्रेममैत्रीकृपोपेक्षा य: करोति स मध्यम: ॥ ४६ ॥

īśvare tad-adhīneṣu

bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca

prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā

yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ

Translation

An intermediate or second-class devotee, called madhyama-adhikārī, offers his love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is a sincere friend to all the devotees of the Lord, shows mercy to ignorant people who are innocent and disregards those who are envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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.

Love, Friendship, Mercy and Wise Distance

  1. 1

    The intermediate devotee offers love to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and sincere friendship to His devotees. Such a devotee shows mercy to innocent people who lack spiritual knowledge.

  2. 2

    The intermediate devotee avoids those who are envious of the Lord, without cultivating hatred toward them. This distance protects the devotee from disturbing association and helps prevent further offenses.

  3. 3

    Careful discrimination does not mean a lack of mercy. A devotee may remain distant from an unreceptive person while still considering how to help that person return to the Lord’s service.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has confirmed that a Vaiṣṇava should be indifferent to those who are envious of the Supreme Lord.
  • Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has strongly rejected those foolish persons who, under a plea of mercy and equal vision, perceive that a faithless person is also a devotee of the Supreme Lord and who thus try to thrust the hari-nāma, or holy name of God, upon such offensive people.
  • Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has pointed out that even though the mahā-bhāgavata devotee may act on the second-class platform for preaching, his rejection of the envious living entities does not obstruct his vision of the Lord as all-pervading.

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· 5

The purport of SB 11.2.46 quotesBG 15.7

Mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ. But because of the influence of māyā the puffed-up conditioned souls become inimical to the service of the Lord and the Lord’s devotees, choose leaders among the materialistic sense gratifiers, and thus engage busily in a useless society of the cheaters and the cheated, a society of the blind leading the blind into a ditch.

The purport of SB 11.2.46 quotesSB 10.20.36

In this connection Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has quoted from the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.20.36): “Sometimes in autumn the water falls down from the tops of the hills to supply clean water, and sometimes the water stops.

The purport of SB 11.2.46 quotesSB 7.9.43

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.9.43) there is the following statement by Prahlāda: “O best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thought of Your glories and activities.

The purport of SB 11.2.46 quotesBG 4.8

Kṛṣṇa Himself states in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8): “To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear millennium after millennium.”

The purport of SB 11.2.46 quotesSB 4.24.57

What interest then can he have in the benedictions of the demigods, who are subject to the laws of birth and death?”

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

Foreboding → Devotional urgency. Uddhava realizes that Kṛṣṇa's visible association is nearing an end.

Chapters 1–6 of Canto 11: The Yadu curse, the nine Yogendras and farewell signs. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 2: Mahārāja Nimi Meets the Nine Yogendras

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

One who shows love for the Lord, friendship for the Lord’s devotees, mercy for the ignorant and indifference for the enemies of Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas is an intermediate devotee. And one who sees the presence of the Supreme Lord in everything and sees everything within the Lord is the topmost devotee.”
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.2
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. īśvareunto the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  2. tat-adhīneṣuto persons who have taken fully to Kṛṣṇa consciousness
  3. bāliśeṣuunto the neophytes or the ignorant
  4. dviṣatsuto persons envious of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s devotees
  5. caand
  6. premalove
  7. maitrīfriendship
  8. kṛpāmercy
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

  • Sakhya · Sacred friendship

    The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 11.2

    In this verse: “friend”, “friendship”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 11.2

    In this verse: “devotee”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 11.2

    In this verse: “mercy”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I care for someone’s spiritual welfare without forcing a message they are unwilling to hear?

Practice

Make one sincere gesture of friendship toward a devotee today, such as asking how you can help with their service.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

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 11.2's connections

Live this todayLove, Friendship, Mercy and Wise DistanceThis 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 11.2.46? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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