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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.8.28

Who is speaking and story frame

तस्या निर्विण्णचित्ताया गीतं श‍ृणु यथा मम ।

निर्वेद आशापाशानां पुरुषस्य यथा ह्यसि: ॥ २८ ॥

tasyā nirviṇṇa-cittāyā

gītaṁ śṛṇu yathā mama

nirveda āśā-pāśānāṁ

puruṣasya yathā hy asiḥ

Translation

The prostitute felt disgusted with her material situation and thus became indifferent to it. Indeed, detachment acts like a sword, cutting to pieces the binding network of material hopes and desires. Now please hear from me the song sung by the prostitute in that situation.

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.

Detachment Cuts the Network of Material Hopes

  1. 1

    Disgusted with her material situation, Piṅgalā became indifferent to it. The speaker now introduces the song she sang.

  2. 2

    Detachment acts like a sword, cutting the binding network of material hopes and desires.

  3. 3

    This network arises from falsely thinking we can establish ourselves permanently in the material world. Without detachment, one continues wandering in māyā without understanding liberated spiritual life.

Key points from the purport
  • The network of material desires is created when one falsely thinks that he can establish himself permanently in the material world.
  • This binding network should be cut by the sword of detachment; otherwise one will be forced to wander in the illusory network of māyā with no understanding of liberated life on the spiritual platform.

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

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 8: The Story of Piṅgalā

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Similarly, the man who becomes attached to the form of woman falls down into the deep well of material life and is destroyed. The instruction received from the honey thief is that just as he steals the honey collected with great effort by the honeybee, a person in the renounced order of life has the privilege of enjoying before anyone else the food and other valuable things purchased by the hard-earned money of the householders.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.8
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tasyāḥof her
  2. nirviṇṇadisgusted
  3. cittāyāḥwhose mind
  4. gītamsong
  5. śṛṇuplease hear
  6. yathāas it is
  7. mamafrom me
  8. nirvedaḥdetachment
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

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 11.8

    In this verse: “detachment”, “indifferent”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 11.8

    In this verse: “material”, “māyā”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 11.8

    In this verse: “understanding”

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

Which hope rests on the assumption that I can make my material situation permanent?

Practice

Write down one such hope and acknowledge that its fulfillment cannot give you a permanent position in this world.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDetachment Cuts the Network of Material HopesThis 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 11.8.28? Get an answer from the verses themselves.