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

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Canto 2 · The Cosmic Manifestation · 10 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 2 · Chapter 1: The First Step in God Realization
2.1.212.1.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.1.22

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:King Parīkṣitsince 2.1.22inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

राजोवाच

यथा सन्धार्यते ब्रह्मन् धारणा यत्र सम्मता ।

याद‍ृशी वा हरेदाशु पुरुषस्य मनोमलम् ॥ २२ ॥

rājovāca

yathā sandhāryate brahman

dhāraṇā yatra sammatā

yādṛśī vā hared āśu

puruṣasya mano-malam

Translation

The fortunate King Parīkṣit, inquiring further, said: O brāhmaṇa, please describe in full detail how and where the mind has to be applied and how the conception can be fixed so that the dirty things in a person’s mind can be removed.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Seek Guidance to Cleanse the Heart

  1. 1

    Impurities in the heart are the root cause of the conditioned soul’s troubles. Instead of serving the Supreme Lord’s will, one serves invented desires that create further problems and repeated birth and death.

  2. 2

    These impurities can be removed only through association with the Supreme Lord. Contemplating His virāṭ-rūpa offers those unable to accept His personal form an indirect association that can gradually lead to personal contact.

  3. 3

    Mahārāja Parīkṣit was already directly connected with Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He asked how to apply the mind for the benefit of others who could not yet conceive of the Lord’s eternal personal form.

Key points from the purport
  • Thus persons who are unable to pin their faith on the personal feature of the Absolute are given a chance to associate with His virāṭ-rūpa, or the cosmic impersonal feature of the Lord.
  • Since the potent and potencies are identical, even the conception of His impersonal cosmic feature helps the conditioned soul to associate with the Lord indirectly and thus gradually rise to the stage of personal contact.
  • So, for the benefit of men who are unable to accept the Lord in His personal eternal form, Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī how to fix the mind on Him in the beginning, and the Gosvāmī replied in detail as follows.

Śrīla Prabhupāda'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 2.1.22 quotesBG 9.11

In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.11) it is explained by the Lord Himself that people with a poor fund of knowledge deride the supreme personality of the Lord, taking Him to be a common man.

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

Death anxiety → Steady attention. The answer to mortality begins with spiritual focus.

Chapters 1–3 of Canto 2: The practice of hearing, remembering and devotion. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 1: The First Step in God Realization

Śukadeva describes the value of conscious living, self-control, and meditation on the Lord’s universal form.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.1
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. rājā uvācathe fortunate King said
  2. yathāas it is
  3. sandhāryatethe conception is made
  4. brahmanO brāhmaṇa
  5. dhāraṇāconception
  6. yatrawhere and how
  7. sammatāin a summary
  8. yādṛśīthe way by which
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 2.1

    In this verse: “inquiring”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 2.1

    In this verse: “king”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 2.1

    In this verse: “death”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which of my desires is creating new problems rather than helping me serve the Lord?

Practice

Write down one question about how to direct your mind toward the Lord, with the intention of seeking guidance.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySeek Guidance to Cleanse 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 2.1.22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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