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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 7: Lord Kṛṣṇa Instructs Uddhava
11.7.2211.7.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.7.23

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Lordsince 11.7.19inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → Uddhava

अत्र मां मृगयन्त्यद्धा युक्ता हेतुभिरीश्वरम् ।

गृह्यमाणैर्गुणैर्लिङ्गैरग्राह्यमनुमानत: ॥ २३ ॥

atra māṁ mṛgayanty addhā

yuktā hetubhir īśvaram

gṛhyamāṇair guṇair liṅgair

agrāhyam anumānataḥ

Translation

Although I, the Supreme Lord, can never be captured by ordinary sense perception, those situated in human life may use their intelligence and other faculties of perception to directly search for Me through both apparent and indirectly ascertained symptoms.

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.

Search for Kṛṣṇa with Devotion and Intelligence

  1. 1

    Bhakti-yoga does not require abandoning intelligence. A devotee uses rational faculties to search for Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  2. 2

    This search must be guided by authorized Vedic scriptures, not imagination or ordinary speculation. The Lord cannot be grasped by materially contaminated senses.

  3. 3

    Through chanting, hearing and devotional service, the senses become purified and the Lord reveals Himself. This perception is direct, not imaginary.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī points out that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not a product of the imagination, and thus we cannot whimsically imagine what the Lord might be.
  • The word agrāhyam in this verse indicates that no one can achieve or understand Lord Kṛṣṇa by ordinary speculation or through the activities of the material senses.
  • Indirectly one may experience the Lord through His creation.

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· 1

The purport of SB 11.7.23 quotesSB 2.2.35

This point has been elaborately explained by Śrīla Prabhupāda in his purport to this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.2.35): “The Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is in every living being along with the individual soul, and this fact is perceived and hypothesized in our acts of seeing and taking help from the intelligence.”

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

Grief and dependence → Detachment. The temporary world becomes a source of spiritual instruction.

Chapters 7–9 of Canto 11: The avadhuta's twenty-four teachers. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 7: Lord Kṛṣṇa Instructs Uddhava

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Within this human body, the living beings can search out the Supreme Lord by positive and negative means and ultimately achieve Him. For this reason the human form of life is most dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.7
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. atrahere (in the human form)
  2. māmfor Me
  3. mṛgayantithey search
  4. addhādirectly
  5. yuktāḥsituated
  6. hetubhiḥby apparent symptoms
  7. īśvaramthe Supreme Lord
  8. gṛhyamāṇaiḥ guṇaiḥwith the perceiving intelligence, mind and senses
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 11.7

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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 11.7

    In this verse: “chanting”, “hearing”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 11.7

    In this verse: “purified”, “contaminated”

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 I use my intelligence to deepen devotion rather than imagine what Kṛṣṇa must be like?

Practice

Read a passage about Kṛṣṇa from the supplied text, then spend one minute attentively chanting His name.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 2.2.35

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 11.7's connections

Live this todaySearch for Kṛṣṇa with Devotion and IntelligenceThis 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 11.7.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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