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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
2.3.192.3.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.3.20

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śaunaka Ṛṣisince 2.3.13inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

बिले बतोरुक्रमविक्रमान् ये

न श‍ृण्वत: कर्णपुटे नरस्य ।

जिह्वासती दार्दुरिकेव सूत

न चोपगायत्युरुगायगाथा: ॥ २० ॥

bile batorukrama-vikramān ye

na śṛṇvataḥ karṇa-puṭe narasya

jihvāsatī dārdurikeva sūta

na copagāyaty urugāya-gāthāḥ

Translation

One who has not listened to the messages about the prowess and marvelous acts of the Personality of Godhead and has not sung or chanted loudly the worthy songs about the Lord is to be considered to possess earholes like the holes of snakes and a tongue like the tongue of a frog.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Purify the Senses Through the Lord’s Service

  1. 1

    Devotional service can engage every limb and sense. The senses become purified when used in the Lord’s service rather than only for sense gratification.

  2. 2

    Spiritual understanding involves intellect, full senses and sincere, submissive hearing. It is a sensible and logical exchange between teacher and disciple, not an electrical charge.

  3. 3

    The ears are meant to hear the Lord’s messages from Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the tongue is meant to chant His glories. Devotees who have heard from perfect sources should help others hear these messages.

Key points from the purport
  • The purified senses are engaged not in sense gratification but in the service of the Lord in toto.
  • Service to the Lord is the completely purified use of the senses, as described in the Bhagavad-gītā.
  • If the ear is not engaged in the service of the Lord by hearing about Him from Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, certainly the holes of the ear will be filled with some rubbish.

Śrīla Prabhupāda'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

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. bilesnake holes
  2. batalike
  3. urukramathe Lord, who acts marvelously
  4. vikramānprowess
  5. yeall these
  6. nanever
  7. śṛṇvataḥheard
  8. karṇa-puṭethe earholes
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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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

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

    In this verse: “chanted”, “chant”, “hearing”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 2.3

    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

How could I use my ears and tongue more fully in the Lord’s service today?

Practice

Read this verse’s translation aloud, listening carefully as you speak about the Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

3 lectures given on it · quoted in 3 more lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Show 1 more lecture on it
Quoted in 3 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.

Live this todayPurify the Senses Through the Lord’s 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 2.3.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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