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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 8: The Story of Piṅgalā
11.8.3411.8.36

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.8.35

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The prostitute Piṅgalāsince 11.8.30inside 5 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → UddhavaThe avadhūta → King YaduPiṅgalā → herself

सुहृत् प्रेष्ठतमो नाथ आत्मा चायं शरीरिणाम् ।

तं विक्रीयात्मनैवाहं रमेऽनेन यथा रमा ॥ ३५ ॥

suhṛt preṣṭhatamo nātha

ātmā cāyaṁ śarīriṇām

taṁ vikrīyātmanaivāhaṁ

rame ’nena yathā ramā

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is absolutely the most dear one for all living beings because He is everyone’s well-wisher and Lord. He is the Supreme Soul situated in everyone’s heart. Therefore I will now pay the price of complete surrender, and thus purchasing the Lord I will enjoy with Him just like Lakṣmīdevī.

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.

Surrender to Your Dearest Well-Wisher

  1. 1

    The Supreme Lord is everyone's dearest well-wisher and the Supreme Soul within every heart. Only He can award the highest perfection of life.

  2. 2

    Lakṣmīdevī always remains at the Lord's lotus feet. Following her example brings eternal happiness.

  3. 3

    We can make the best use of the material body by surrendering our body, mind and words to the Lord. This is the price by which one can purchase Him, and it automatically controls the old tendency toward sense gratification.

Key points from the purport
  • The real friend of all conditioned souls is the Supreme Lord, and only He can award the highest perfection in life.
  • One should make the best use of the material body, which is a bad bargain, and surrender one’s body, mind and words to the Lord.
  • Paying such a price, one can purchase the Lord, who is everyone’s dearmost well-wisher.

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:

The instruction received from her is that hopes for sense gratification are the root cause of all suffering. Therefore, only one who has given up such hankering can fix himself in meditation upon the Personality of Godhead and achieve transcendental peace.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.8
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. su-hṛtwell-wishing friend
  2. preṣṭha-tamaḥabsolutely the most dear one
  3. nāthaḥLord
  4. ātmāsoul
  5. caalso
  6. ayamHe
  7. śarīriṇāmof all embodied beings
  8. tamHim
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

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 11.8

    In this verse: “surrender”, “surrendering”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

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

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 offer my body, mind and words to my dearest well-wisher?

Practice

Do one small act of service to the Lord today, giving it both your attention and your willing effort.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySurrender to Your Dearest Well-WisherThis 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 11.8.35? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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