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

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Canto 9 · Liberation · 24 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 9 · Chapter 11: Lord Rāmacandra Rules the World

9.11.21 9.11.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.11.22

Nirodha· Winding up

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 9.11.10inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

स यै: स्पृष्टोऽभिद‍ृष्टो वा संविष्टोऽनुगतोऽपि वा ।

कोसलास्ते ययु: स्थानं यत्र गच्छन्ति योगिन: ॥ २२ ॥

sa yaiḥ spṛṣṭo ’bhidṛṣṭo vā

saṁviṣṭo ’nugato ’pi vā

kosalās te yayuḥ sthānaṁ

yatra gacchanti yoginaḥ

Translation

Lord Rāmacandra returned to His abode, to which bhakti-yogīs are promoted. This is the place to which all the inhabitants of Ayodhyā went after they served the Lord in His manifest pastimes by offering Him obeisances, touching His lotus feet, fully observing Him as a fatherlike King, sitting or lying down with Him like equals, or even just accompanying Him.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Leads to the Lord’s Abode

1
The inhabitants of Ayodhyā served Lord Rāmacandra in various relationships and went back home, back to Godhead.
2
A devotee perfect in devotional service enters the manifest pastimes of Lord Rāmacandra or Lord Kṛṣṇa. After training in service there, the devotee reaches sanātana-dhāma, the eternal spiritual abode.
3
The Lord’s return does not mean that He became impersonal. The Lord and His devotees remain persons, even after the devotees give up their material bodies.

Key points from the purport

All the inhabitants of Ayodhyā who saw Lord Rāmacandra as citizens, served Him as servants, sat and talked with Him as friends or were somehow or other present during His reign went back home, back to Godhead.
After giving up the body, the devotee who becomes perfect in devotional service enters that particular universe where Lord Rāmacandra or Lord Kṛṣṇa is engaged in His pastimes.
To understand clearly why Lord Rāmacandra returned, it is mentioned herewith that the Lord went to that particular place where the bhakti-yogīs go.

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· 1

The purport of SB 9.11.22 quotesBG 4.9

The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9): “One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.”

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

Exile and separation → Loyalty and reunion. Duty, loss and sacrifice shape the dramatic center of this canto.

Chapters 10–12 of Canto 9: The pastimes of Lord Rāmacandra. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 11: Lord Rāmacandra Rules the World

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When Bharata went out to conquer various lands on behalf of the emperor, Lord Rāmacandra, He fought many millions of Gandharvas. By killing them in the fight, He acquired immense wealth, which He then brought home.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 9.11

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

saḥHe, Lord Rāmacandra
yaiḥby which persons
spṛṣṭaḥtouched
abhidṛṣṭaḥseen
vāeither
saṁviṣṭaḥeating together, lying together
anugataḥfollowed as servants
api vāeven

Key ideas in this verse

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

Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead
What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 9.11
In this verse: “bhakti-yogīs”, “devotional service”, “devotee”
Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership
Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 9.11
In this verse: “king”
Vātsalya · Parental affection
Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 9.11
In this verse: “fatherlike”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does knowing that service to the Lord continues eternally affect my desire to serve Him now?

Practice

Offer obeisances to the Lord today, remembering that devotional service leads to His personal association.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Service Leads to the Lord’s AbodeThis 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.

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