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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 4: The Process of Creation
2.4.142.4.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.4.15

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 2.4.12inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यत्कीर्तनं यत्स्मरणं यदीक्षणं

यद्वन्दनं यच्छ्रवणं यदर्हणम् ।

लोकस्य सद्यो विधुनोति कल्मषं

तस्मै सुभद्रश्रवसे नमो नम: ॥ १५ ॥

yat-kīrtanaṁ yat-smaraṇaṁ yad-īkṣaṇaṁ

yad-vandanaṁ yac-chravaṇaṁ yad-arhaṇam

lokasya sadyo vidhunoti kalmaṣaṁ

tasmai subhadra-śravase namo namaḥ

Translation

Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the all-auspicious Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, about whom glorification, remembrances, audience, prayers, hearing and worship can at once cleanse the effects of all sins of the performer.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Associate With Kṛṣṇa Through Devotional Service

  1. 1

    Glorifying, remembering, seeing, praying to, hearing about and worshiping Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa cleanse the effects of sins. Glorification includes singing His glories and reciting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā.

  2. 2

    The Lord is present wherever pure transcendental service is performed. Even one devotional process can give association with Him when properly practiced under expert guidance.

  3. 3

    One must never willingly commit sins expecting devotional service to remove their reactions. Hearing is essential to guard against this offense, and devotional practices should not be invented.

Key points from the purport
  • Kīrtanam, or glorifying the Lord, can be performed in very many ways, such as remembering, visiting temples to see the Deity, offering prayers in front of the Lord, and hearing recitations of glorification of the Lord mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā.
  • The devotional process of chanting, hearing, remembering, etc. (either all or some of them, or even one of them), can give us the desired result of associating with the Lord by discharging the transcendental loving service of the Lord in the above manner.
  • One may worship the form of the Lord in a temple, or one may impersonally offer the Lord devotional prayers in a mosque or a church.

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

Quoted in the purport ofSB 4.4.27

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.4.15) it is stated, yat-kīrtanaṁ yat-smaraṇaṁ.

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

Uncertainty → Awe. The scale of reality widens dramatically.

Chapters 4–7 of Canto 2: The creation, cosmic Person and incarnations. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 4: The Process of Creation

Parīkṣit fixes his mind on Kṛṣṇa and asks about creation; Śukadeva offers prayers before answering.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yatwhose
  2. kīrtanamglorification
  3. yatwhose
  4. smaraṇamremembrances
  5. yatwhose
  6. īkṣaṇamaudience
  7. yatwhose
  8. vandanamprayers
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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 2.4

    In this verse: “hearing”, “glorification”, “glorifying”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.4

    In this verse: “worship”, “devotional service”, “worshiping”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 2.4

    In this verse: “cleanse”, “sins”

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 make my devotional practice more attentive and avoid treating it as permission to do wrong?

Practice

Read this verse’s translation aloud today as an act of glorifying Kṛṣṇa, giving careful attention to its meaning.

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.

Quoted in 2 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 2 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 todayAssociate With Kṛṣṇa Through Devotional ServiceThis 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 2.4.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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