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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 5: Nārada Concludes His Teachings to Vasudeva
11.5.4611.5.48

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.5.47

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 11.5.43inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Vasudeva

दर्शनालिङ्गनालापै: शयनासनभोजनै: ।

आत्मा वां पावित: कृष्णे पुत्रस्‍नेहं प्रकुर्वतो: ॥ ४७ ॥

darśanāliṅganālāpaiḥ

śayanāsana-bhojanaiḥ

ātmā vāṁ pāvitaḥ kṛṣṇe

putra-snehaṁ prakurvatoḥ

Translation

My dear Vasudeva, you and your good wife Devakī have manifested great transcendental love for Kṛṣṇa, accepting Him as your son. Indeed, you are always seeing the Lord, embracing Him, speaking with Him, resting with Him, sitting together with Him and taking your meals with Him. By such affectionate and intimate association with the Lord, undoubtedly both of you have completely purified your hearts. In other words, you are already perfect.

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.

Loving Service Is Life’s Highest Perfection

  1. 1

    Vasudeva and Devakī expressed intense love for Kṛṣṇa by seeing, embracing, speaking and sharing daily life with Him as their son. Nārada assured them that they were already completely purified and perfect.

  2. 2

    Vasudeva is an eternally liberated associate of the Lord, always eager to serve Kṛṣṇa. His extreme humility led him to seek devotional instruction as though he were an ordinary human being.

  3. 3

    Ordinary conditioned souls purify their lives by following the principles of bhakti-yoga and offering all their activities in devotional service. Everyone should develop dormant love for Kṛṣṇa, seeking the joy of pleasing Him.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore, in the present verse Nārada has used the word pāvitaḥ: “You are completely purified, and therefore you are completely free from the slightest trace of discrepancy in your devotional service, due to your intense love for Kṛṣṇa.”
  • However, Nārada could understand that due to extreme humility, Vasudeva considered himself an ordinary human being and was feeling very anxious to receive transcendental instructions on the devotional service of the Lord.
  • However, at the same time Nārada has revealed that actually Śrī Vasudeva and Devakī are already completely glorious by their unprecedented fortune of having Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma as their sons.

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 5: Nārada Concludes His Teachings to Vasudeva

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Even by meditating upon Kṛṣṇa in a spirit of enmity, such kings as Śiśupāla attained an equal status to Him. So to attempt to say anything more about the perfect achievement of great souls such as Vasudeva, who enjoy intimate loving relations with Kṛṣṇa, would be a useless endeavor.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. darśanaby seeing
  2. āliṅganaembracing
  3. ālāpaiḥand conversing
  4. śayanain taking rest
  5. āsanasitting
  6. bhojanaiḥand eating
  7. ātmāthe hearts
  8. vāmof you two
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 11.5

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “bhakti-yoga”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 11.5

    In this verse: “love”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 11.5

    In this verse: “purified”

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

How can my desire to please Kṛṣṇa become more present in daily life?

Practice

Choose one activity today and consciously offer it in devotional service for Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure.

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 11.5's connections

Live this todayLoving Service Is Life’s Highest 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 11.5.47? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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