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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 33: Activities of Kapila
3.33.53.33.7

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.33.6

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Devahūtisince 3.33.2inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

यन्नामधेयश्रवणानुकीर्तनाद्

यत्प्रह्वणाद्यत्स्मरणादपि क्‍वचित् ।

श्वादोऽपि सद्य: सवनाय कल्पते

कुत: पुनस्ते भगवन्नु दर्शनात् ॥ ६ ॥

yan-nāmadheya-śravaṇānukīrtanād

yat-prahvaṇād yat-smaraṇād api kvacit

śvādo ’pi sadyaḥ savanāya kalpate

kutaḥ punas te bhagavan nu darśanāt

Translation

To say nothing of the spiritual advancement of persons who see the Supreme Person face to face, even a person born in a family of dog-eaters immediately becomes eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices if he once utters the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or chants about Him, hears about His pastimes, offers Him obeisances or even remembers Him.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Holy Name Purifies Without Delay

  1. 1

    Chanting, hearing and remembering the Supreme Lord’s holy name have great spiritual potency. Those who engage in devotional service become freed from the reactions of sinful activities.

  2. 2

    Chanting or hearing the holy name even once, purely and without offense, immediately brings purification. Birth in a particular family does not limit this spiritual potency.

  3. 3

    The bona fide spiritual master judges a disciple’s purification and qualification through chanting and grants initiation. The disciple then makes further progress toward becoming a qualified Vaiṣṇava.

Key points from the purport
  • If by chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead one becomes so swiftly cleared of all reactions to sinful activities, then what is to be said of those persons who see Him face to face?
  • Of course, that depends on the individual process of chanting, but this remark of Śrīdhara Svāmī’s is completely applicable if one chants the holy name of the Lord without offense, for he immediately becomes more than a brāhmaṇa.
  • By the process of initiation by the spiritual master, a person is accepted as a brāhmaṇa in his purified state of chanting the holy name of the Lord.

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· 4

Quoted in the purport ofSB 6.1.15

How devotional service vanquishes the reactions of sinful life is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.33.6) in a verse spoken during Lord Kapiladeva’s instructions to His mother, Devahūti.

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 16.186

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.33.6).

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 18.125

For an explanation of this verse (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.33.6), see Madhya-līlā, chapter 16, text 186.

Quoted in the purport ofCC Antya 3.124

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.33.6):

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

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 33: Activities of Kapila

Devahūti follows Kapila’s instructions and attains liberation; Kapila travels onward and receives prayers and offerings.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.33
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yatof whom (the Supreme Personality of Godhead)
  2. nāmadheyathe name
  3. śravaṇahearing
  4. anukīrtanātby chanting
  5. yatto whom
  6. prahvaṇātby offering obeisances
  7. yatwhom
  8. smaraṇātby remembering
3

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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 3.33

    In this verse: “chants”, “holy name”, “chanting”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 3.33

    In this verse: “purification”, “sinful”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.33

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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 does the holy name’s power encourage you to take chanting seriously, whatever your background?

Practice

Set aside a quiet minute to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa attentively and respectfully.

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 3 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 3 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 todayThe Holy Name Purifies Without DelayThis 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 3.33.6? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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