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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.25.8

Who is speaking and story frame

य एष एवमनुश्रुतो ध्यायमानो मुमुक्षूणामनादिकालकर्मवासनाग्रथितमविद्यामयं हृदयग्रन्थिं सत्त्वरजस्तमोमयमन्तर्हृदयं गत आशु निर्भिनत्ति तस्यानुभावान् भगवान् स्वायम्भुवो नारद: सह तुम्बुरुणा सभायां ब्रह्मण: संश्लोकयामास ॥ ८ ॥

ya eṣa evam anuśruto dhyāyamāno mumukṣūṇām anādi-kāla-karma-vāsanā-grathitam avidyāmayaṁ hṛdaya-granthiṁ sattva-rajas-tamomayam antar-hṛdayaṁ gata āśu nirbhinatti tasyānubhāvān bhagavān svāyambhuvo nāradaḥ saha tumburuṇā sabhāyāṁ brahmaṇaḥ saṁślokayām āsa.

Translation

If persons who are very serious about being liberated from material life hear the glories of Anantadeva from the mouth of a spiritual master in the chain of disciplic succession, and if they always meditate upon Saṅkarṣaṇa, the Lord enters the cores of their hearts, vanquishes all the dirty contamination of the material modes of nature, and cuts to pieces the hard knot within the heart, which has been tied tightly since time immemorial by the desire to dominate material nature through fruitive activities. Nārada Muni, the son of Lord Brahmā, always glorifies Anantadeva in his father’s assembly. There he sings blissful verses of his own composition, accompanied by his stringed instrument [or a celestial singer] known as Tumburu.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Authorized Hearing Purifies the Heart

  1. 1

    Descriptions of Lord Anantadeva are not imaginary; they are full of transcendental bliss and actual knowledge. Understanding them requires hearing from a bona fide spiritual master in disciplic succession.

  2. 2

    Through such hearing and constant meditation on Saṅkarṣaṇa, the Lord enters the heart and cuts its hard knot. This knot is tied by the desire to dominate material nature through fruitive activities.

  3. 3

    The heart’s contamination appears as lusty desires and greed for possessions. Transcendental knowledge received in disciplic succession purifies this contamination and helps devotees return to Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • Nārada composes various poems to glorify Lord Ananta, and therefore the word saṁślokayām āsa (praised by selected poetry) is used in this verse.
  • The Vaiṣṇavas in the Gauḍīya-sampradāya belong to the disciplic succession stemming from Lord Brahmā.
  • Lord Brahmā is the spiritual master of Nārada, Nārada is the spiritual master of Vyāsadeva, and Vyāsadeva wrote the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as a commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra.

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 25: The Glories of Lord Ananta

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Anyone who hears about Him from a proper spiritual master becomes free from all material conceptions of life. The entire material energy is working according to the plans of Anantadeva.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.25
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yaḥwho
  2. eṣaḥthis one
  3. evamthus
  4. anuśrutaḥbeing heard from a bona fide spiritual master
  5. dhyāyamānaḥbeing meditated upon
  6. mumukṣūṇāmof persons desiring liberation from conditioned life
  7. anādifrom immemorial
  8. kālatime
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.25

    In this verse: “material”, “lusty”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 5.25

    In this verse: “glorifies”, “hearing”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 5.25

    In this verse: “contamination”, “purifies”

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 seriously do I seek spiritual knowledge through the authorized disciplic succession?

Practice

Spend five minutes carefully rereading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s purport to this verse, then reflect on one desire for control or possessions.

Live this todayAuthorized Hearing Purifies 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 5.25.8? Get an answer from the verses themselves.