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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 3: Pure Devotional Service: The Change in Heart
2.3.92.3.11

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.3.10

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 2.3.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अकाम: सर्वकामो वा मोक्षकाम उदारधी: ।

तीव्रेण भक्तियोगेन यजेत पुरुषं परम् ॥ १० ॥

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā

mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ

tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena

yajeta puruṣaṁ param

Translation

A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Everyone Can Take Up Devotional Service

  1. 1

    Whether one desires material enjoyment, liberation or neither, broader intelligence means worshiping Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the ultimate authority, even for material benefits.

  2. 2

    Bhakti-yoga is the supreme means of self-realization and the ultimate goal of karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and demigod worship. Everyone should seriously take up devotional service.

  3. 3

    Desirelessness does not mean being inactive; it means seeking happiness in the Supreme Lord's happiness. Unmixed bhakti-yoga through hearing and chanting can be practiced by everyone, regardless of inner motive.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore one who desires to merge into the supreme impersonal brahmajyoti must also worship the Lord by bhakti-yoga, as recommended here in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
  • Therefore a person with a broader outlook can see that the ultimate authority is the Lord, even for material benefits.
  • Under the circumstances, one with a broader outlook, even with the desire for material enjoyment or for liberation, should take to the worship of the Lord directly.

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· 5

The purport of SB 2.3.10 quotesBG 7.20

People with desires for material enjoyment worship small demigods, and such intelligence is condemned in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) as hṛta-jñāna, the intelligence of one who has lost his senses.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 2.9.36

It is enjoined: Though a person be full of desires or have no desires, he may follow this path of infallible bhakti-yoga for complete perfection.”

Quoted in the purport ofSB 4.21.34

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.10) therefore recommends: Everyone — whether akāma (a devotee), sarva-kāma (a karmī) or mokṣa-kāma (a jñānī or yogī) — is encouraged to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the direct method of devotional service.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 4.23.35

Therefore it is recommended in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.10): If a person wants to return home, back to Godhead, or wants to become a pure devotee (akāma), or wants some material prosperity (sakāma or sarva-kāma), or wants to merge into the existence of the Supreme Brahman effulgence (mokṣa-kāma), he is recommended to take to the path of devotional service and hear and…

Quoted in the purport ofSB 4.24.62

yajeta puruṣaṁ param. The devotees, the jñānīs, who are known as mokṣa-kāma, and the karmīs, who are known as sarva-kāma, are all aspiring to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu.

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 3: Pure Devotional Service: The Change in Heart

Everyone should worship the Supreme Lord and engage the senses in devotion that changes the heart.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.3
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. akāmaḥone who has transcended all material desires
  2. sarva-kāmaḥone who has the sum total of material desires
  3. vāeither
  4. mokṣa-kāmaḥone who desires liberation
  5. udāra-dhīḥwith broader intelligence
  6. tīvreṇawith great force
  7. bhakti-yogenaby devotional service to the Lord
  8. yajetashould worship
  9. puruṣamthe Lord
  10. paramthe supreme whole
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.3

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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 2.3

    In this verse: “chanting”, “hearing”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.3

    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 could I seek the Lord's satisfaction rather than only my own today?

Practice

Spend five minutes chanting the Lord's holy name, with the intention of pleasing Him rather than gaining something for yourself.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it · quoted in 41 more lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 41 other lectures

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

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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 2.3's connections

Live this todayEveryone Can Take Up Devotional ServiceOne of the 108 chosen lessons: a practice and a question from this verse

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 2.3.10? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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