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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 20: Pure Devotional Service Surpasses Knowledge and Detachment
11.20.211.20.4

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.20.3

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Uddhavasince 11.20.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → Uddhava

गुणदोषभिदाद‍ृष्टिमन्तरेण वचस्तव ।

नि:श्रेयसं कथं नृणां निषेधविधिलक्षणम् ॥ ३ ॥

guṇa-doṣa-bhidā-dṛṣṭim

antareṇa vacas tava

niḥśreyasaṁ kathaṁ nṝṇāṁ

niṣedha-vidhi-lakṣaṇam

Translation

Without seeing the difference between piety and sin, how can one understand Your own instructions in the form of Vedic literatures, which order one to act piously and forbid one to act sinfully? Furthermore, without such authorized Vedic literatures, which ultimately award liberation, how can human beings achieve the perfection of life?

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.

Scripture Guides Human Beings Toward Perfection

  1. 1

    The Lord’s Vedic instructions direct people to act piously and avoid sinful activities. Uddhava asks how these instructions can be understood without recognizing that distinction.

  2. 2

    Without accepting the need to perform pious activities and avoid sin, authorized religious scriptures become difficult to understand.

  3. 3

    Uddhava also asks how human beings can attain salvation without authorized scripture. His question emphasizes scripture’s role in reaching the perfection of life.

Key points from the purport
  • If one does not accept the necessity of performing pious activities and avoiding sinful activities, it becomes very difficult to understand authorized religious scriptures; and without such scriptures, how can human beings attain salvation?
  • This is the essence of Śrī Uddhava’s question.

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 20: Pure Devotional Service Surpasses Knowledge and Detachment

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The Vedic śāstras are the words expressing the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In these Vedic literatures is found an outlook of duality, based on such concepts as the varṇāśrama system, and at the same time the Vedas reject this dualistic vision.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.20
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. guṇapiety
  2. doṣasin
  3. bhidāthe difference between
  4. dṛṣṭimseeing
  5. antareṇawithout
  6. vacaḥwords
  7. tavaYour
  8. niḥśreyasamperfection of life, liberation
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 11.20

    In this verse: “sinfully”, “sinful”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 11.20

    In this verse: “understand”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 11.20

    In this verse: “religious”

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

Do I approach scriptural guidance as help toward life’s perfection?

Practice

Reread the translation and write its two questions in your own words.

Live this todayScripture Guides Human Beings Toward PerfectionThis 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 11.20.3? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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