1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 3 · The Status Quo · 33 chapters

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 5: Vidura’s Talks with Maitreya
3.5.103.5.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.5.11

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vidurasince 3.5.2inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

कस्तृप्नुयात्तीर्थपदोऽभिधानात्

सत्रेषु व: सूरिभिरीड्यमानात् ।

य: कर्णनाडीं पुरुषस्य यातो

भवप्रदां गेहरतिं छिनत्ति ॥ ११ ॥

kas tṛpnuyāt tīrtha-pado ’bhidhānāt

satreṣu vaḥ sūribhir īḍyamānāt

yaḥ karṇa-nāḍīṁ puruṣasya yāto

bhava-pradāṁ geha-ratiṁ chinatti

Translation

Who in human society can be satisfied without hearing sufficient talk of the Lord, whose lotus feet are the sum total of all places of pilgrimage and who is worshiped by great sages and devotees? Such topics can cut off one’s bondage to family affection simply by entering the holes of one’s ears.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hearing About Kṛṣṇa Frees the Self

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa-kathā is so powerful that simply entering the ear can free a person from the bondage of material family attachment. Such attachment keeps the mind absorbed in activities that bring repeated birth and death.

  2. 2

    Bhagavad-gītā teaches that the body is perishable, while the conscious self is imperishable. Ignorance and passion strongly bind one to identifying the body as the self.

  3. 3

    Even material goodness cannot fully free one from material bondage. Kṛṣṇa-kathā can establish pure consciousness of the self, and sharing it is a great service to the world.

Key points from the purport
  • Mundane goodness can enlighten one that the body and the self are different, and one in goodness is concerned with the self and not the body.
  • But due to being contaminated, those in mundane goodness cannot understand the real nature of the self as a person.
  • Their impersonal conception of the self as distinct from the body keeps them in the mode of goodness within material nature, and unless they are attracted by kṛṣṇa-kathā, they will never be liberated from the bondage of material existence.

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

Mystery → Cosmic wonder. The origin of the world is revealed through inquiry and divine grace.

Chapters 5–12 of Canto 3: Creation and Brahmā's bewilderment. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 5: Vidura’s Talks with Maitreya

Vidura meets Maitreya, who begins explaining the Lord’s activities and the unfolding of material creation.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kaḥwho is that man
  2. tṛpnuyātthat can be satisfied
  3. tīrtha-padaḥwhose lotus feet are all the places of pilgrimage
  4. abhidhānātfrom the talks of
  5. satreṣuin human society
  6. vaḥone who is
  7. sūribhiḥby great devotees
  8. īḍyamānātone who is so worshiped
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.5

    In this verse: “devotees”, “worshiped”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.5

    In this verse: “attachment”, “material”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 3.5

    In this verse: “hearing”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where do I most often mistake my bodily identity for my real self?

Practice

Listen attentively to a short reading of Bhagavad-gītā today, remembering the distinction between the perishable body and the imperishable self.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayHearing About Kṛṣṇa Frees the SelfThis 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 3.5.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories