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

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Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 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 5 · Chapter 18: The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa
5.18.105.18.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.18.11

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.18.7inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यत्सङ्गलब्धं निजवीर्यवैभवं

तीर्थं मुहु: संस्पृशतां हि मानसम् ।

हरत्यजोऽन्त: श्रुतिभिर्गतोऽङ्गजं

को वै न सेवेत मुकुन्दविक्रमम् ॥ ११ ॥

yat-saṅga-labdhaṁ nija-vīrya-vaibhavaṁ

tīrthaṁ muhuḥ saṁspṛśatāṁ hi mānasam

haraty ajo ’ntaḥ śrutibhir gato ’ṅgajaṁ

ko vai na seveta mukunda-vikramam

Translation

By associating with persons for whom the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mukunda, is the all in all, one can hear of His powerful activities and soon come to understand them. The activities of Mukunda are so potent that simply by hearing of them one immediately associates with the Lord. For a person who constantly and very eagerly hears narrations of the Lord’s powerful activities, the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead in the form of sound vibrations, enters within his heart and cleanses it of all contamination. On the other hand, although bathing in the Ganges diminishes bodily contaminations and infections, this process and the process of visiting holy places can cleanse the heart only after a long time. Therefore who is the sane man who will not associate with devotees to quickly perfect his life?

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hearing About Kṛṣṇa Cleanses the Heart

  1. 1

    By associating with devotees and hearing the Lord’s powerful activities, we directly associate with Him. The Supreme Lord within the heart personally cleanses the listener’s mind.

  2. 2

    The great teachers of devotional service strongly recommend hearing about the Supreme Lord. Hearing the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra purifies the heart and helps us advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

  3. 3

    Regularly hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and serving a pure devotee establish steady loving service to the Lord. As material attachment diminishes, attraction to Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, qualities and activities increases.

Key points from the purport
  • However, one who directly associates with the Supreme Lord by hearing of His activities cleanses the dirt from his mind and very soon comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
  • The Supreme Lord within everyone’s heart becomes very pleased when a person hears narrations of His activities, and He personally cleanses the dirt from the mind of the listener.
  • If one can cleanse his mind, he immediately comes to his original position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thus his life becomes successful.

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· 2

The purport of SB 5.18.11 quotesSB 1.2.17

Sūta Gosvāmī confirms this in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.17): The Supreme Lord within everyone’s heart becomes very pleased when a person hears narrations of His activities, and He personally cleanses the dirt from the mind of the listener.

The purport of SB 5.18.11 quotesSB 1.2.18

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.18): “By regularly hearing the Bhāgavatam and rendering service unto the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is practically destroyed, and loving service unto the glorious Lord, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.”

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

Smallness → Awe and reverence. A vast cosmos changes the reader's perspective.

Chapters 15–25 of Canto 5: The cosmic regions and divine worship. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 18: The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The conditioned living entity has the defect of being always fearful, but simply by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he can rid himself of this defect of material life. Therefore the Lord alone can be addressed as master.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.18
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yatof whom (the devotees)
  2. saṅga-labdhamachieved by the association
  3. nija-vīrya-vaibhavamwhose influence is uncommon
  4. tīrthamholy places like the Ganges
  5. muhuḥrepeatedly
  6. saṁspṛśatāmof those touching
  7. hicertainly
  8. mānasamthe dirty things in the mind
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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

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 5.18

    In this verse: “cleanses”, “contamination”, “purifies”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.18

    In this verse: “absolute truth”, “understand”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 5.18

    In this verse: “hearing”, “narrations”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I give more eager attention to hearing about Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Spend five minutes chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, carefully hearing each name.

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Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 1.2.17SB 1.2.18

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 5.18's connections

Live this todayHearing About Kṛṣṇa Cleanses the HeartThis 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 5.18.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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