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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 28: Kapila’s Instructions on the Execution of Devotional Service
3.28.123.28.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.28.13

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Personality of Godheadsince 3.28.1inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

प्रसन्नवदनाम्भोजं पद्मगर्भारुणेक्षणम् ।

नीलोत्पलदलश्यामं शङ्खचक्रगदाधरम् ॥ १३ ॥

prasanna-vadanāmbhojaṁ

padma-garbhāruṇekṣaṇam

nīlotpala-dala-śyāmaṁ

śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-dharam

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has a cheerful, lotuslike countenance with ruddy eyes like the interior of a lotus, and a swarthy body like the petals of a blue lotus. He bears a conch, discus and mace in three of His hands.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Fix the Mind on the Lord’s Form

  1. 1

    The mind should be fixed on the cheerful, personal form of Viṣṇu. The purport explains that meditation on the impersonal or void is very troublesome.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa’s bodily color is compared to lotus petals tinted blue and white. This description comes from authoritative scripture, not an artist’s imagination.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s eyes resemble the interior of a lotus flower. In His four hands He holds a conchshell, discus, mace and lotus.

Key points from the purport
  • One cannot concentrate his mind on anything void or impersonal; the mind should be fixed on the personal form of the Lord, whose attitude is cheerful, as described in this verse.
  • Bhagavad-gītā also confirms that one should concentrate his mind on the Personality of Godhead.
  • The color of the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is described here as nīlotpala-dala, meaning that it is like that of a lotus flower with petals tinted blue and white.

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

Entanglement → Insight and liberation. Inquiry matures into instruction in devotion and spiritual nature.

Chapters 25–33 of Canto 3: Kapila instructs Devahūti. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 28: Kapila’s Instructions on the Execution of Devotional Service

Kapila teaches disciplined yoga and devoted meditation upon the Lord’s eternal form.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.28
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. prasannacheerful
  2. vadanacountenance
  3. ambhojamlotuslike
  4. padma-garbhathe interior of a lotus
  5. aruṇaruddy
  6. īkṣaṇamwith eyes
  7. nīla-utpalablue lotus
  8. dalapetals
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

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 scriptural detail of the Lord’s form helps me focus my mind?

Practice

Spend one minute recalling the Lord’s cheerful lotuslike face as described here.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayFix the Mind on the Lord’s FormThis 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.

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