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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 5: Vidura’s Talks with Maitreya
3.5.403.5.42

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.5.41

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The demigodssince 3.5.39inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

मार्गन्ति यत्ते मुखपद्मनीडै-

श्छन्द:सुपर्णैऋर्षयो विविक्ते ।

यस्याघमर्षोदसरिद्वराया:

पदं पदं तीर्थपद: प्रपन्ना: ॥ ४१ ॥

mārganti yat te mukha-padma-nīḍaiś

chandaḥ-suparṇair ṛṣayo vivikte

yasyāgha-marṣoda-sarid-varāyāḥ

padaṁ padaṁ tīrtha-padaḥ prapannāḥ

Translation

The lotus feet of the Lord are by themselves the shelter of all places of pilgrimage. The great clear-minded sages, carried by the wings of the Vedas, always search after the nest of Your lotuslike face. Some of them surrender to Your lotus feet at every step by taking shelter of the best of rivers [the Ganges], which can deliver one from all sinful reactions.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Vedic Wisdom Leads to the Lord’s Shelter

  1. 1

    The great sages are compared to swans who seek shelter in the Lord’s lotuslike face and at His lotus feet. Vedic wisdom is like the wings that carry them there.

  2. 2

    All Vedic knowledge is meant for understanding the Supreme Lord. Intelligent persons seek His shelter rather than remain absorbed in fruitless philosophical speculation.

  3. 3

    The Ganges and Bhagavad-gītā are chief sources of transcendental happiness. By taking shelter of them, one can go back home, back to Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • The paramahaṁsa makes his nest in the lotuslike face of the Lord and always seeks shelter at His lotus feet, which are reached by the wings of Vedic wisdom.
  • Since the Lord is the original source of all emanations, intelligent persons, enlightened by Vedic knowledge, seek the shelter of the Lord, just as birds who leave the nest again search out the nest to take complete rest.
  • The river Ganges and Bhagavad-gītā are chief sources of transcendental happiness for mankind, and intelligent persons can take shelter of them to go back home, back to Godhead.

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

The purport of SB 3.5.41 quotesBG 15.15

All Vedic knowledge is meant for understanding the Supreme Lord, as stated by the Lord in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ.

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

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. mārgantisearching after
  2. yatas
  3. teYour
  4. mukha-padmalotuslike face
  5. nīḍaiḥby those who have taken shelter of such a lotus flower
  6. chandaḥVedic hymns
  7. suparṇaiḥby the wings
  8. ṛṣayaḥthe sages
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.5

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “wisdom”, “philosophical”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 3.5

    In this verse: “surrender”, “shelter”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 3.5

    In this verse: “sinful”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I using spiritual learning to seek the Lord’s shelter, or merely to collect ideas?

Practice

Read a short passage from Bhagavad-gītā with the intention of understanding and taking shelter of the Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayVedic Wisdom Leads to the Lord’s ShelterThis 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 3.5.41? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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