Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 17

Yoga-siddhi — The Mystic Perfections and Their Origin in Meditation on the Lord

Devanagari script

निर्गुणे ब्रह्मणि मयि धारयन् विशदं मन: । परमानन्दमाप्नोति यत्र कामोऽवसीयते ॥ १७ ॥

Transliteration

nirguṇe brahmaṇi mayi dhārayan viśadaṁ manaḥ paramānandam āpnoti yatra kāmo ’vasīyate

Translation

যি জনে মোৰ নিৰ্গুণ ব্ৰহ্ম-স্বৰূপত শুদ্ধ মন স্থিৰ কৰে, সি পৰমানন্দ লাভ কৰে; তাত সকলো কামনা সম্পূৰ্ণৰূপে শমিত হয়।

Synonyms

• nirguṇe: in the attributeless
• nirguṇe: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nirguṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Saptamī, Ekavacana; adjective qualifying brahmaṇi

• brahmaṇi: in Brahman
• brahmaṇi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (often), Saptamī, Ekavacana; adhikaraṇa

• mayi: in Me
• mayi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Saptamī, Ekavacana; pronoun; adhikaraṇa

• dhārayan: holding; meditating (by fixing)
• dhārayan: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhṛ (धातु)
• Form: Vartamāna-kṛdanta (present active participle/शतृ), Parasmaipada; Puṁliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; from √dhṛ ‘to hold’

• viśadam: clear; pure
• viśadam: Karma (कर्म) (object of dhārayan)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viśada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā (2nd/द्वितीया), Ekavacana; adjective qualifying manaḥ

• manaḥ: mind
• manaḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; object of dhārayan

• paramānandam: supreme bliss
• paramānandam: Karma (कर्म) (object of āpnoti)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama + ānanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; karmadhāraya (परमः आनन्दः)

• āpnoti: attains
• āpnoti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्, present), Parasmaipada, Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa-nirdeśa (अधिकरण-निर्देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; relative adverb (स्थानवाचक)

• kāmaḥ: desire
• kāmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (of avasīyate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• avasīyate: subsides; comes to rest
• avasīyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava√sā (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (present), Ātmanepada, Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; passive/intransitive sense ‘comes to rest/ceases’

Purport

Paramānanda, or “the greatest happiness,” here indicates the greatest material happiness, since it is clearly stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that a devotee has no personal desire, or kāma. One who has personal desire is certainly within the material world, and on the material platform the greatest happiness is kāmāvasāyitā-siddhi, or the perfection of completely obtaining anything that one desires.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Uddhava

FAQs

What does Srimad Bhagavatam say about stopping lust (kāma)?

This verse says lust subsides when the mind is purified and firmly fixed on the Lord as the nirguṇa Brahman; in that supreme blissful absorption, desire naturally comes to rest.

Why did Krishna say this to Uddhava in the Uddhava Gita?

Krishna is teaching Uddhava the inner method of perfection—steady contemplation on the Absolute Lord—by which the heart becomes peaceful and freed from material craving.

How can I apply this teaching in modern life?

Regularly train the mind toward the Lord through sincere meditation, mantra/japa, and sāttvika living; as the mind becomes clearer and more absorbed in higher taste, compulsive desires lose their force.