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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 3: Liberation from the Illusory Energy
11.2.5511.3.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.3.1

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:King Nimisince 11.3.1inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → VasudevaThe nine Yogendras → King Nimi

श्रीराजोवाच

परस्य विष्णोरीशस्य मायिनामपि मोहिनीम् ।

मायां वेदितुमिच्छामो भगवन्तो ब्रुवन्तु न: ॥ १ ॥

śrī-rājovāca

parasya viṣṇor īśasya

māyinām api mohinīm

māyāṁ veditum icchāmo

bhagavanto bruvantu naḥ

Translation

King Nimi said: Now we wish to learn about the illusory potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Viṣṇu, which bewilders even great mystics. My lords, please speak to us about this subject.

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.

Humbly Inquire About the Lord’s Illusory Energy

  1. 1

    King Nimi asks about the illusory potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Viṣṇu. This energy can bewilder even great mystics.

  2. 2

    Desires for material sense gratification drive both demigods and human beings to seek material knowledge. Their senses remain busy measuring material sense objects.

  3. 3

    Māyā causes conditioned souls to turn away from Kṛṣṇa consciousness and surrender to bewildering material manifestations. King Nimi therefore seeks deeper understanding from saintly teachers.

Key points from the purport
  • According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, in this chapter various saintly sons of Ṛṣabhadeva will speak about the illusory energy (māyā), the means for crossing beyond it, the characteristics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and prescribed duties for human beings.
  • Therefore King Nimi is now pursuing this subject matter by requesting more detailed information from the saintly Yogendras.
  • To understand fully the actual nature of māyā, the illusory potency, which causes the conditioned souls to become averse to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and surrender to bewildering material manifestations, King Nimi is inquiring from another of the nine Yogendras, Śrī Antarīkṣa.

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

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 3: Liberation from the Illusory Energy

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

In answer to four questions spoken by Mahārāja Nimi, this chapter describes the nature and activities of the illusory potency ( māyā), the method of becoming free from māyā’s insurmountable grip, the transcendental situation of the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa, and the process of karma-yoga, by which one becomes free from all material activities.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-rājā uvācathe King said
  2. parasyaof the Supreme
  3. viṣṇoḥViṣṇu
  4. īśasyathe Lord
  5. māyināmfor the possessors of great mystic power
  6. apieven
  7. mohinīmwhich is bewildering
  8. māyāmthe illusory potency
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 11.3

    In this verse: “māyā”, “sense gratification”, “material”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 11.3

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understanding”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 11.3

    In this verse: “king”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How much of my desire for knowledge serves sense gratification rather than understanding the Lord?

Practice

Read King Nimi’s request aloud and write one sincere question you have about māyā.

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 11.3's connections

Live this todayHumbly Inquire About the Lord’s Illusory EnergyThis 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 11.3.1? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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