Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 57
The Song of the Avantī Brāhmaṇa (Avanti-brāhmaṇa-gītā): Mind as the Root of Suffering and Equanimity Amid Insult
एतां स आस्थाय परात्मनिष्ठा- मध्यासितां पूर्वतमैर्महर्षिभि: । अहं तरिष्यामि दुरन्तपारं तमो मुकुन्दाङ्घ्रिनिषेवयैव ॥ ५७ ॥
etāṁ sa āsthāya parātma-niṣṭhām adhyāsitāṁ pūrvatamair maharṣibhiḥ ahaṁ tariṣyāmi duranta-pāraṁ tamo mukundāṅghri-niṣevayaiva
পূর্বতন মহর্ষি ও আচার্যগণ যে পরমাত্মনিষ্ঠা অবলম্বন করেছিলেন, তা গ্রহণ করে আমি কেবল মুকুন্দ শ্রীকৃষ্ণের চরণকমলের সেবাতেই অজ্ঞানতার দুরতিক্রম সাগর পার হব।
This verse is quoted by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja in his Caitanya-caritāmṛta ( Madhya-līl ā 3.6). Śrīla Prabhupāda comments as follows. “In connection with this verse, which is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.23.57) , Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that of the sixty-four items required for rendering devotional service, acceptance of the symbolic marks of sannyāsa is a regulative principle. If one accepts the sannyāsa order, his main business is to devote his life completely to the service of Mukunda, Kṛṣṇa. If one does not completely devote his mind and body to the service of the Lord, he does not actually become a sannyāsī. It is not simply a matter of changing dress. In Bhagavad-gītā (6.1) it is also stated, anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ kāryaṁ karma karoti yaḥ/ sa sannyāsī ca yogī ca: one who works devotedly for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa is a sannyāsī. The dress is not sannyāsa, but the attitude of service to Kṛṣṇa is.
FAQs
This verse teaches that one crosses the seemingly endless darkness of ignorance by adopting steadfast devotion to the Supreme and, above all, by serving Mukunda’s lotus feet.
He emphasizes that this path of parātma-niṣṭhā is time-tested—followed by the earliest great sages—therefore it is authoritative and effective for liberation.
Center daily life on bhakti: chant and remember Kṛṣṇa, study Bhagavatam, offer work and food in devotion, and keep saintly association—making service the main means to overcome confusion and despair.