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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 10: Bhāgavatam Is the Answer to All Questions
2.10.432.10.45

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.10.44

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 2.10.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

इत्थंभावेन कथितो भगवान् भगवत्तम: ।

नेत्थंभावेन हि परं द्रष्टुमर्हन्ति सूरय: ॥ ४४ ॥

ittham-bhāvena kathito

bhagavān bhagavattamaḥ

nettham-bhāvena hi paraṁ

draṣṭum arhanti sūrayaḥ

Translation

The great transcendentalists thus describe the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the pure devotees deserve to see more glorious things in transcendence, beyond these features.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Loving Service Reveals the Lord’s Pleasure

  1. 1

    The Lord is more than the creator and destroyer of material manifestations. His pleasure feature, ānanda, is understood only by pure devotees.

  2. 2

    Brahman realization understands the Lord’s all-pervasive influence, while the mystic sees Paramātmā within the heart. Pure devotees participate in the Lord’s pleasure potency through actual reciprocation of loving service.

  3. 3

    By developing pure devotional service, one can know the Lord as He is and enter His direct association. The highest glorious association is in Goloka Vṛndāvana, where Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoys with the gopīs and surabhi cows.

Key points from the purport
  • This pleasure feature of the Lord is understood by the pure devotees only, and not by others.
  • But there are pure devotees who take part in the direct pleasure (ānanda) potency of the Lord by factual reciprocation of loving service.
  • The pure devotees of the Lord thus undergo a practice of that devotional service to the Lord during the manifestation of the creation and take full advantage of the manifestation by qualifying themselves to enter into the kingdom of God.

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 2.10.44 quotesBG 18.55

The Bhagavad-gītā (18.55) confirms this: By development of pure devotional service one can factually know the Lord as He is and thus be trained in the bona fide service of the Lord and be allowed to enter into the direct association of the Lord in so many capacities.

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

Inquiry → Conviction. Divine knowledge resolves fundamental cosmic uncertainty.

Chapters 8–10 of Canto 2: Parīkṣit questions; Brahmā receives revelation. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 10: Bhāgavatam Is the Answer to All Questions

Śukadeva outlines the Bhāgavatam’s subjects and describes creation through the Lord’s universal form.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.10
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. itthamin these features
  2. bhāvenathe matter of creation and destruction
  3. kathitaḥdescribed
  4. bhagavānthe Personality of Godhead
  5. bhagavat-tamaḥby the great transcendentalists
  6. nanot
  7. itthamin this
  8. bhāvenafeatures
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.10

    In this verse: “devotees”, “devotional service”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 2.10

    In this verse: “understands”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.10

    In this verse: “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 approach devotional service as loving service rather than merely a duty?

Practice

Choose one act of devotional service today and do it with the intention of pleasing the Lord.

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 2.10's connections

Live this todayLoving Service Reveals the Lord’s PleasureThis 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.

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