Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 30

Purūravā’s Song of Renunciation and the Glory of Sādhu-saṅga

Devanagari script

भक्तिं लब्धवत: साधो: किमन्यदवशिष्यते । मय्यनन्तगुणे ब्रह्मण्यानन्दानुभवात्मनि ॥ ३० ॥

Transliteration

bhaktiṁ labdhavataḥ sādhoḥ kim anyad avaśiṣyate mayy ananta-guṇe brahmaṇy ānandānubhavātmani

Translation

ഹേ സാധുവേ, അനന്തഗുണങ്ങളുള്ള പരബ്രഹ്മനും ആനന്ദാനുഭവത്തിന്റെ സ്വരൂപനുമായ എന്നിൽ ഭക്തി ലഭിച്ച പൂർണ്ണഭക്തന് ഇനി എന്താണ് നേടാൻ ശേഷിക്കുന്നത്?

Synonyms

• bhaktim: devotion
• bhaktim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Dvitīyā vibhakti (Acc. 2), Ekavacana (sg.)

• labdhavataḥ: of one who has obtained
• labdhavataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: labdha-vat (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √labh (धातु) + kta + vat)
• Form: Puṁliṅga (m.), Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (Gen. 6), Ekavacana (sg.); possessive adjective ‘having obtained’

• sādhoḥ: of the saint
• sādhoḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga (m.), Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (Gen. 6), Ekavacana (sg.); address-context ‘O saint’ implied

• kim: what?
• kim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुṁsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Dvitīyā (Nom./Acc.), Ekavacana (sg.); interrogative

• anyat: anything else
• anyat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुṁsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Dvitīyā (Nom./Acc.), Ekavacana (sg.)

• avaśiṣyate: remains
• avaśiṣyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava√śiṣ (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Ātmanepada, Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana (sg.)

• mayi: in Me
• mayi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Saptamī vibhakti (Loc. 7), Ekavacana (sg.)

• ananta-guṇe: (in Me) of infinite qualities
• ananta-guṇe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ananta (प्रातिपदिक) + guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga (m.), Saptamī vibhakti (Loc. 7), Ekavacana (sg.); karmadhāraya: ‘anantāḥ guṇāḥ yasya’ (having endless qualities) used as qualifier of ‘mayi’

• brahmaṇi: in Brahman
• brahmaṇi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुṁsakaliṅga (n.), Saptamī vibhakti (Loc. 7), Ekavacana (sg.)

• ānanda-anubhava-ātmani: in Him whose nature is the experience of bliss
• ānanda-anubhava-ātmani: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + anubhava (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga (m.), Saptamī vibhakti (Loc. 7), Ekavacana (sg.); tatpuruṣa chain: ‘ānandasya anubhavaḥ’ (experience of bliss) + ‘ātman’ (whose nature is)

Purport

Devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa is so pleasing that a pure devotee cannot desire anything except service to the Lord. In the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Lord Kṛṣṇa told the gopīs that they would have to accept their own service as the ultimate reward of their devotion to Him, since nothing awards as much happiness and knowledge as devotional service itself. When one sincerely chants and hears the holy name and fame of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the heart is purified and gradually one can appreciate the actual, blissful nature of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, loving service to the Lord.

Characters & Entities

• Uddhava
• Kṛṣṇa (as Brahman/Paramātmā)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about what remains after attaining bhakti?

This verse states that for one who has truly attained devotion, nothing else remains to be achieved, because devotion culminates in realizing the Lord—who is Brahman and the very essence of bliss.

Why did Krishna say this to Uddhava in Canto 11?

In His final instructions (Uddhava Gītā), Kṛṣṇa teaches Uddhava that bhakti is the highest attainment, surpassing separate pursuits for liberation or other goals, since it grants direct realization of the Supreme.

Practical application of this teaching in modern life?

Prioritize steady devotional practice—hearing, chanting, remembrance, and service—so that spiritual life is not treated as one more achievement, but as the final fulfillment that brings inner completeness.