Shloka 39
Nārada Explains the Allegory of King Purañjana
Deha–Indriya–Manaḥ Mapping and the Remedy of Bhakti
यत्र भागवता राजन् साधवो विशदाशया: । भगवद्गुणानुकथनश्रवणव्यग्रचेतस: ॥ ३९ ॥ तस्मिन्महन्मुखरिता मधुभिच्चरित्र- पीयूषशेषसरित: परित: स्रवन्ति । ता ये पिबन्त्यवितृषो नृप गाढकर्णै- स्तान्न स्पृशन्त्यशनतृड्भयशोकमोहा: ॥ ४० ॥
yatra bhāgavatā rājan sādhavo viśadāśayāḥ bhagavad-guṇānukathana- śravaṇa-vyagra-cetasaḥ
My dear King, where bhāgavata devotees—saintly souls of pure intent—eagerly hear and speak the Lord’s qualities, there from the mouths of great devotees flow rivers of nectar: the honey-sweet pastimes of the Prabhu, streaming like waves on every side. Those who drink that nectar with deep, attentive ears, never satiated, are untouched by hunger and thirst, fear, lamentation, or illusion.
The cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is possible where great devotees live together and constantly engage in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord. In a holy place like Vṛndāvana, there are many devotees constantly engaged in chanting and hearing the glories of the Lord. If one gets the chance to hear from pure devotees in such a place, allowing the constant flow of the river of nectar to come from the mouths of pure devotees, then the cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness becomes very easy. When one is engaged in constantly hearing the glories of the Lord, he certainly rises above the bodily conception. When one is in the bodily conception, he feels the pangs of hunger and thirst, fear, lamentation and illusion. But when one is engaged in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord, he transcends the bodily conception.
FAQs
A true bhāgavata is saintly and pure-hearted, and remains deeply absorbed in hearing and narrating the Supreme Lord’s qualities (bhagavad-guṇa-kathā).
Nārada instructed the king—who was inclined toward ritualistic activity—to take shelter of saintly association and devotion, centered on hearing the Lord’s glories, as the higher path to purification and liberation.
Seek satsanga, regularly hear or read Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, and keep the mind engaged in the Lord’s qualities through kīrtana, discussion, and remembrance.