1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 11 · General History · 31 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031

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 6: The Yadu Dynasty Retires to Prabhāsa
11.6.1811.6.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.6.19

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The demigodssince 11.6.7inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

विभ्व्यस्तवामृतकथोदवहास्त्रिलोक्या:

पादावनेजसरित: शमलानि हन्तुम् ।

आनुश्रवं श्रुतिभिरङ्‍‍घ्रिजमङ्गसङ्गै-

स्तीर्थद्वयं शुचिषदस्त उपस्पृशन्ति ॥ १९ ॥

vibhvyas tavāmṛta-kathoda-vahās tri-lokyāḥ

pādāvane-ja-saritaḥ śamalāni hantum

ānuśravaṁ śrutibhir aṅghri-jam aṅga-saṅgais

tīrtha-dvayaṁ śuci-ṣadas ta upaspṛśanti

Translation

The nectar-bearing rivers of discussions about You, and also the holy rivers generated from the bathing of Your lotus feet, are able to destroy all contamination within the three worlds. Those who are striving for purification associate with the holy narrations of Your glories by hearing them with their ears, and they associate with the holy rivers flowing from Your lotus feet by physically bathing in them.

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.

Hear About Kṛṣṇa and Purify the Heart

  1. 1

    One should hear about Kṛṣṇa from the bona fide spiritual master. When the disciple is sincere and obedient, this speaking and hearing is nectar for both teacher and disciple.

  2. 2

    Hearing about the Lord destroys contamination in the heart, especially the desire to live without serving Kṛṣṇa. Pure knowledge of the Lord and devotional service comes through the bona fide spiritual master, not whimsical speculation.

  3. 3

    The waters that bathe the Lord’s feet are called caraṇāmṛta. The purport recommends bathing in the Ganges or Yamunā and describes taking three drops of the Deities’ bathing water as ways to purify the heart.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura states, ānuśravaṁ guror uccāraṇam anuśrūyante: “One should hear about Kṛṣṇa by hearing from the spiritual master.”
  • Every morning in ISKCON temples, the lotus feet of the Deity of Kṛṣṇa are bathed, and the water thus sanctified is also called caraṇāmṛta, the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.
  • One must learn to serve the Lord from the bona fide spiritual master, whose instructions one should accept without speculation.

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 6: The Yadu Dynasty Retires to Prabhāsa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Therefore, intelligent persons situated in the varṇāśrama system serve the two kinds of holy places: the nectarean rivers of the topics of Kṛṣṇa and the nectarean rivers flowing from the Lord’s lotus feet. By incarnating within the Yadu dynasty, Kṛṣṇa performed the highest welfare work for the entire universe by displaying His transcendental pastimes.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.6
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. vibhvyaḥare able
  2. tavaYour
  3. amṛtanectarean
  4. kathāof the topics
  5. uda-vahāḥthe water-bearing rivers
  6. tri-lokyāḥof the three worlds
  7. pāda-avanefrom the bathing of Your lotus feet
  8. jaborn
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

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 11.6

    In this verse: “purification”, “contamination”, “purify”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 11.6

    In this verse: “hearing”, “narrations”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 11.6

    In this verse: “devotional service”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I hearing about Kṛṣṇa with a sincere desire to learn how to serve Him?

Practice

Spend five minutes reading from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, looking for one instruction on serving Kṛṣṇa to follow today.

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 11.6's connections

Live this todayHear About Kṛṣṇa and Purify the HeartThis 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 11.6.19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories