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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
2.3.212.3.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.3.22

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śaunaka Ṛṣisince 2.3.13inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

बर्हायिते ते नयने नराणां

लिङ्गानि विष्णोर्न निरीक्षतो ये ।

पादौ नृणां तौ द्रुमजन्मभाजौ

क्षेत्राणि नानुव्रजतो हरेर्यौ ॥ २२ ॥

barhāyite te nayane narāṇāṁ

liṅgāni viṣṇor na nirīkṣato ye

pādau nṛṇāṁ tau druma-janma-bhājau

kṣetrāṇi nānuvrajato harer yau

Translation

The eyes which do not look at the symbolic representations of the Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu [His forms, name, quality, etc.] are like those printed on the plumes of the peacock, and the legs which do not move to the holy places [where the Lord is remembered] are considered to be like tree trunks.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Engage Eyes and Feet in Devotion

  1. 1

    Deity worship is especially recommended for householders under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master. Daily service to the Lord purifies their existence and helps them advance in spiritual knowledge.

  2. 2

    Book knowledge alone is not sufficient for a beginner; spiritual knowledge develops through both learning and practical worship. The spiritual master personally teaches service such as dressing the Deity and cleaning the temple.

  3. 3

    Seeing the beautifully decorated forms of the Lord in a sanctified temple gives spiritual inspiration. Visits to temples and holy places should follow proper spiritual guidance, rather than be mere sightseeing.

Key points from the purport
  • The spiritual master teaches the neophyte devotee all these kindly and personally to help him gradually in the realization of the transcendental name, quality, form, etc., of the Lord.
  • One should not visit all these sanctified pilgrimage places and temples with sightseeing in mind, but one must go to such temples and sanctified places immortalized by the transcendental pastimes of the Lord and be guided by proper men who know the science.
  • It is therefore best to follow the instruction of the bona fide spiritual master, even in visiting temples and the holy places of pilgrimage.

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. barhāyitelike plumes of a peacock
  2. tethose
  3. nayaneeyes
  4. narāṇāmof men
  5. liṅgāniforms
  6. viṣṇoḥof the Personality of Godhead
  7. nadoes not
  8. nirīkṣataḥlook upon
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “worship”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “householders”

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 combine what I study with practical service to the Lord?

Practice

Visit a temple today and attentively look at the Lord’s worshipable form with a devotional purpose, rather than as a sightseer.

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 1 more lecture. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 1 other lecture

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 todayEngage Eyes and Feet in DevotionThis 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 2.3.22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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