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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 3 · The Status Quo · 33 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 3 · Chapter 15: Description of the Kingdom of God
3.15.223.15.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.15.23

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 3.15.12inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Brahmā → the demigods

यन्न व्रजन्त्यघभिदो रचनानुवादा-

च्छृण्वन्ति येऽन्यविषया: कुकथा मतिघ्नी: ।

यास्तु श्रुता हतभगैर्नृभिरात्तसारा-

स्तांस्तान् क्षिपन्त्यशरणेषु तम:सु हन्त ॥ २३ ॥

yan na vrajanty agha-bhido racanānuvādāc

chṛṇvanti ye ’nya-viṣayāḥ kukathā mati-ghnīḥ

yās tu śrutā hata-bhagair nṛbhir ātta-sārās

tāṁs tān kṣipanty aśaraṇeṣu tamaḥsu hanta

Translation

It is very much regrettable that unfortunate people do not discuss the description of the Vaikuṇṭha planets but engage in topics which are unworthy to hear and which bewilder one’s intelligence. Those who give up the topics of Vaikuṇṭha and take to talk of the material world are thrown into the darkest region of ignorance.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hear About the Lord’s Spiritual Abode

  1. 1

    The spiritual world has transcendental variety; it is not empty or without personal activities. Material variety is a distorted reflection of spiritual variety.

  2. 2

    Those who discuss and try to understand Vaikuṇṭha are fortunate. Its variety is described in relation to the Lord’s transcendental pastimes.

  3. 3

    People often give their attention to politics and economic development while neglecting the Lord’s abode and activities. Interest in returning to Godhead turns attention toward understanding the spiritual world.

Key points from the purport
  • The most unfortunate persons are the impersonalists, who cannot understand the transcendental variegatedness of the spiritual world.
  • How can the impersonalist and the void philosopher think of this material world, which is full of variegatedness, and then say that there is no variegatedness in the spiritual world?
  • It is said that this material world is the perverted reflection of the spiritual world, so unless there is variegatedness in the spiritual world, how can there be temporary variegatedness in the material world?

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

Threat and anger → Rescue and wonder. Divine protection appears amid cosmic confrontation.

Chapters 13–19 of Canto 3: Varāha, Jaya and Vijaya, Hiraṇyākṣa. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 15: Description of the Kingdom of God

Brahmā describes Vaikuṇṭha, where the Kumāras curse two doorkeepers and then behold the Lord.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.15
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yatVaikuṇṭha
  2. nanever
  3. vrajantiapproach
  4. agha-bhidaḥof the vanquisher of all kinds of sins
  5. racanāof the creation
  6. anuvādātthan narrations
  7. śṛṇvantihear
  8. yethose who
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.15

    In this verse: “material”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 3.15

    In this verse: “give up”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.15

    In this verse: “understand”

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

Which conversations help me understand the Lord’s abode, and which leave my intelligence bewildered?

Practice

Replace five minutes of worldly discussion today with reading and discussing this verse’s teaching about Vaikuṇṭha.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayHear About the Lord’s Spiritual AbodeThis 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 3.15.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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