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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 19: A Description of the Island of Jambūdvīpa
5.19.15.19.3

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.19.2

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.19.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

आर्ष्टिषेणेन सह गन्धर्वैरनुगीयमानां परमकल्याणीं भर्तृभगवत्कथां समुपश‍ृणोति स्वयं चेदं गायति ॥ २ ॥

ārṣṭiṣeṇena saha gandharvair anugīyamānāṁ parama-kalyāṇīṁ bhartṛ-bhagavat-kathāṁ samupaśṛṇoti svayaṁ cedaṁ gāyati.

Translation

A host of Gandharvas is always engaged in chanting the glories of Lord Rāmacandra. That chanting is always extremely auspicious. Hanumānjī and Arṣṭiṣeṇa, the chief person in Kimpuruṣa-varṣa, constantly hear those glories with complete attention. Hanumān chants the following mantras.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hear the Lord’s Glories with Full Attention

  1. 1

    The Gandharvas constantly chant Lord Rāmacandra’s glories, and this chanting is extremely auspicious. Hanumānjī and Arṣṭiṣeṇa hear with complete attention.

  2. 2

    The Viṣṇu-dharmottara describes Lord Rāmacandra and His brothers as incarnations of Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. The Padma Purāṇa describes Them as incarnations of Nārāyaṇa, Śeṣa, Cakra and Śaṅkha.

  3. 3

    Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa explains that these accounts are not contradictory. The Lord and His brothers appear in these different ways in different millenniums.

Key points from the purport
  • In the Purāṇas there are two different opinions concerning Lord Rāmacandra.
  • The Padma Purāṇa, however, says that Lord Rāmacandra is an incarnation of Nārāyaṇa and that the other three brothers are incarnations of Śeṣa, Cakra and Śaṅkha.
  • In some millenniums Lord Rāmacandra and His brothers appear as incarnations of Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, and in other millenniums They appear as incarnations of Nārāyaṇa, Śeṣa, Cakra and Śaṅkha.

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

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 19: A Description of the Island of Jambūdvīpa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The inhabitants of Kimpuruṣa-varṣa are fortunate because they worship Lord Rāmacandra with His faithful servant Hanumān. Lord Rāmacandra exemplifies an incarnation of Godhead who descends for the mission of paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām — protecting the devotees and destroying the miscreants.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.19
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ārṣṭi-ṣeṇenaĀrṣṭiṣeṇa, the chief personality of Kimpuruṣa-varṣa
  2. sahawith
  3. gandharvaiḥby a company of Gandharvas
  4. anugīyamānāmbeing chanted
  5. parama-kalyāṇīmmost auspicious
  6. bhartṛ-bhagavat-kathāmthe glories of his master, who is also the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  7. samupaśṛṇotihe hears with great attention
  8. svayam caand personally
  9. idamthis
  10. gāyatichants
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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 5.19

    In this verse: “chanting”, “chant”

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

What distracts me from hearing the Lord’s glories with complete attention?

Practice

Put aside distractions and spend five minutes attentively hearing or reading Lord Rāmacandra’s glories.

5

Connected stories

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

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 5.19's connections

Live this todayHear the Lord’s Glories with Full AttentionThis 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 5.19.2? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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