Shloka 22
Yamarāja Instructs the Yamadūtas: Supreme Authority, Mahājanas, and the Glory of the Holy Name
एतावानेव लोकेऽस्मिन् पुंसां धर्म: पर: स्मृत: । भक्तियोगो भगवति तन्नामग्रहणादिभि: ॥ २२ ॥
etāvān eva loke ’smin puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ bhakti-yogo bhagavati tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ
In dieser Welt gilt als höchstes Dharma für den Menschen: Bhakti-yoga zu Bhagavān, beginnend mit dem Annehmen und Singen Seines heiligen Namens und ähnlichen Übungen.
As stated in the previous verse, dharmaṁ bhāgavatam, real religious principles, are bhāgavata-dharma, the principles described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself or in Bhagavad-gītā, the preliminary study of the Bhāgavatam. What are these principles? The Bhāgavatam says, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra: in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there are no cheating religious systems. Everything in the Bhāgavatam is directly connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Bhāgavatam further says, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje: the supreme religion is that which teaches its followers how to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond the reach of experimental knowledge. Such a religious system begins with tan-nāma-grahaṇa, chanting of the holy name of the Lord ( śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam ). After chanting the holy name of the Lord and dancing in ecstasy, one gradually sees the form of the Lord, the pastimes of the Lord and the transcendental qualities of the Lord. This way one fully understands the situation of the Personality of Godhead. One can come to this understanding of the Lord, how He descends into the material world, how He takes His births and what activities He performs, but one can know this only by executing devotional service. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti: simply by devotional service one can understand everything about the Supreme Lord. If one fortunately understands the Supreme Lord in this way, the result is tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti: after giving up his material body, he no longer has to take birth in this material world. Instead, he returns home, back to Godhead. That is the ultimate perfection. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (8.15) :
FAQs
This verse states that the highest dharma is bhakti-yoga—devotional service to the Supreme Lord—especially by taking up His holy name and related devotional practices.
After the Yamadūtas were checked by the Viṣṇudūtas in Ajāmila’s case, Yamarāja instructed them on the true standard of dharma: devotees of Bhagavān are not to be judged like ordinary sinners, because bhakti—centered on the Lord’s name—supersedes other atonements.
Begin a daily practice of chanting the Lord’s names (japa or kīrtana), remember Him during routine work, and align choices with devotion—using the holy name as the foundation for steady spiritual focus and purification.