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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 6: Creation of the Universal Form
3.6.363.6.38

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.6.37

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 3.6.11inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

एकान्तलाभं वचसो नु पुंसां

सुश्लोकमौलेर्गुणवादमाहु: ।

श्रुतेश्च विद्वद्‍‌भिरुपाकृतायां

कथासुधायामुपसम्प्रयोगम् ॥ ३७ ॥

ekānta-lābhaṁ vacaso nu puṁsāṁ

suśloka-mauler guṇa-vādam āhuḥ

śruteś ca vidvadbhir upākṛtāyāṁ

kathā-sudhāyām upasamprayogam

Translation

The highest perfectional gain of humanity is to engage in discussions of the activities and glories of the Pious Actor. Such activities are so nicely arranged in writing by the greatly learned sages that the actual purpose of the ear is served just by being near them.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hear and Discuss the Lord’s Glories

  1. 1

    The Lord’s qualities, activities and pastimes are transcendental, not mundane. Discussing them is the highest perfectional stage of transcendental realization.

  2. 2

    Great sages have preserved these narrations in writing. Hearing them brings self-realization and fulfills the proper purpose of the ear and tongue.

  3. 3

    Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is one of these great literatures. The highest perfection of life is attained by hearing and reciting its contents.

Key points from the purport
  • The impersonalists are very much afraid of hearing the activities of the Lord because they think that the happiness derived from the transcendental situation of Brahman is the ultimate goal of life; they think that anyone’s activity, even that of the Personality of Godhead, is mundane.
  • Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, therefore, concludes that topics regarding the transcendental activities of the Lord are far beyond the transcendental realization of kaivalya happiness.
  • These transcendental activities of the Lord are so arranged in writing by the great sages that simply by hearing of those narrations one becomes perfectly self-realized, and the proper use of the ear and the tongue is also achieved.

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 6: Creation of the Universal Form

The Lord enters the material elements, manifesting the universal form with its senses, deities, and social orders.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.6
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. eka-antathe one which has no comparison
  2. lābhamgain
  3. vacasaḥby discussions
  4. nu puṁsāmafter the Supreme Person
  5. suślokapious
  6. mauleḥactivities
  7. guṇa-vādamglorification
  8. āhuḥit is so said
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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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 3.6

    In this verse: “hearing”, “narrations”, “reciting”

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 could I give more attention to hearing and discussing the Lord’s transcendental activities?

Practice

Read this verse’s translation aloud slowly, using both your tongue and ears to attend to its message.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayHear and Discuss the Lord’s GloriesThis 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 3.6.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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