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

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Canto 7 · The Science of God · 15 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.

Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Canto 7 · Chapter 10: Prahlāda, the Best Among Exalted Devotees

7.10.13 7.10.15-17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.10.14

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 7.10.11inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

य एतत्कीर्तयेन्मह्यं त्वया गीतमिदं नर: ।

त्वां च मां च स्मरन्काले कर्मबन्धात्प्रमुच्यते ॥ १४ ॥

ya etat kīrtayen mahyaṁ

tvayā gītam idaṁ naraḥ

tvāṁ ca māṁ ca smaran kāle

karma-bandhāt pramucyate

Translation

One who always remembers your activities and My activities also, and who chants the prayers you have offered, becomes free, in due course of time, from the reactions of material activities.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hearing and Service Free Us from Bondage

1
Hearing and chanting about Prahlāda Mahārāja and Nṛsiṁhadeva gradually frees one from the bondage of fruitive activities. Remembering their activities and chanting Prahlāda’s prayers brings this freedom in due course.
2
A devotee should not be overwhelmed by distress or extraordinarily elated by material opulence. Steadiness in both is expert management of material life.
3
One who serves Kṛṣṇa with body, mind, intelligence and words is liberated even within this world. Constant devotional service frees a devotee from material bondage in any condition of life.

Key points from the purport

Here it is stated that anyone who chants and hears about the activities of Prahlāda Mahārāja and, in relationship with Prahlāda’s activities, the activities of Nṛsiṁhadeva, gradually becomes free from all the bondage of fruitive activities.
A devotee should not be aggrieved in an awkward position, nor should he feel extraordinarily happy in material opulence.
Because of constantly engaging in devotional service, in any condition of life, a devotee is free from all material bondage.

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 7.10.14 quotesBG 2.15

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.15, 2.56): “O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation.”

The purport of SB 7.10.14 quotesSB 11.14.21

“Even one born in a family of meat-eaters is purified if he engages in devotional service.”

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

Terror and divine fury → Protection and compassion. The crisis resolves through relationship rather than domination.

Chapters 8–10 of Canto 7: Nṛsiṁhadeva appears; Prahlāda pacifies Him. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 10: Prahlāda, the Best Among Exalted Devotees

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Then Lord Brahmā, who was also present, offered many prayers to the Lord, expressing his obligation to the Lord for having offered benedictions to Prahlāda Mahārāja. The Lord advised Lord Brahmā not to offer benedictions to asuras as he had to Hiraṇyakaśipu, for such benedictions indulge them.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 7.10

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

yaḥanyone who
etatthis activity
kīrtayetchants
mahyamunto Me
tvayāby you
gītamprayers offered
idamthis
naraḥhuman being

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
Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting
Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 7.10
In this verse: “chants”, “chanting”, “hearing”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 7.10
In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotee”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 7.10
In this verse: “material”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I continue serving Kṛṣṇa steadily in both happiness and distress?

Practice

Spend five minutes hearing or chanting about the activities of Prahlāda Mahārāja and Nṛsiṁhadeva.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 11.14.21

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 7.10's connections

Live this todayHearing and Service Free Us from BondageThis 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 7.10.14? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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