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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
  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 7.15.74

Who is speaking and story frame

धर्मस्ते गृहमेधीयो वर्णित: पापनाशन: ।

गृहस्थो येन पदवीमञ्जसा न्यासिनामियात् ॥ ७४ ॥

dharmas te gṛha-medhīyo

varṇitaḥ pāpa-nāśanaḥ

gṛhastho yena padavīm

añjasā nyāsinām iyāt

Translation

The process of chanting the holy name of the Lord is so powerful that by this chanting even householders [gṛhasthas] can very easily gain the ultimate result achieved by persons in the renounced order. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, I have now explained to you that process of religion.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Chanting Opens Perfection to Every Household

  1. 1

    Chanting the Lord’s holy name is so powerful that householders can attain the ultimate result achieved by those in the renounced order.

  2. 2

    Anyone participating in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can attain spiritual knowledge. Even more important, one can advance in devotional service.

  3. 3

    Yudhiṣṭhira feared that household life prevented liberation. Nārada Muni established that devotee association and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra can bring the highest perfection in any condition of life.

Key points from the purport
  • Anyone who takes part in this movement, regardless of what he is, can gain the topmost result achieved by a perfect sannyāsī, namely brahma-jñāna (spiritual knowledge).
  • Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira thought that because he was a gṛhastha there was no hope of his being liberated, and therefore he asked Nārada Muni how he could get out of material entanglement.
  • But Nārada Muni, citing a practical example from his own life, established that by associating with devotees and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, any man in any condition of life can achieve the highest perfection without a doubt.

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

Seriousness → Principled living. The example of bhakti becomes a guide to daily life.

Chapters 11–15 of Canto 7: Teachings on social and spiritual conduct. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 15: Instructions for Civilized Human Beings

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, after hearing from Nārada, became ecstatic in love of Kṛṣṇa, and then Nārada Muni left that place and returned to his own place. Thus Śukadeva Gosvāmī, having described various descendants of the daughters of Dakṣa, ends the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.15
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dharmaḥthat religious process
  2. teto you
  3. gṛha-medhīyaḥalthough attached to household life
  4. varṇitaḥexplained (by me)
  5. pāpa-nāśanaḥthe destruction of sinful reactions
  6. gṛhasthaḥa person in household life
  7. yenaby which
  8. padavīmthe position
3

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 7.15

    In this verse: “chanting”, “holy name”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 7.15

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotee”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 7.15

    In this verse: “religion”

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

Do I let my present circumstances make me doubt my opportunity for devotional service?

Practice

Set aside a few minutes within your daily routine to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayChanting Opens Perfection to Every HouseholdThis 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 7.15.74? Get an answer from the verses themselves.