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

Devanagari script

एतां स आस्थाय परात्मनिष्ठा- मध्यासितां पूर्वतमैर्महर्षिभि: । अहं तरिष्यामि दुरन्तपारं तमो मुकुन्दाङ्‍‍घ्रिनिषेवयैव ॥ ५७ ॥

Transliteration

etāṁ sa āsthāya parātma-niṣṭhām adhyāsitāṁ pūrvatamair maharṣibhiḥ ahaṁ tariṣyāmi duranta-pāraṁ tamo mukundāṅghri-niṣevayaiva

Translation

Nương theo sự kiên định hướng về Paramātmā mà các bậc đại hiền và ācārya xưa đã thực hành, ta sẽ vượt qua biển tối vô minh khó bề qua nổi chỉ bằng việc phụng sự đôi chân sen của Mukunda, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Synonyms

• etām: this
• etām: Karma (object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine), Dvitīyā vibhakti (Accusative, 2nd), Ekavacana; demonstrative used adjectivally

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; pronoun

• āsthāya: having taken refuge in
• āsthāya: Kriyā (पूर्वक्रिया/gerundial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√sthā (धातु) + lyap (क्त्वा/ल्यप्)
• Form: Kṛdanta (absolutive/gerund), ‘having resorted to/undertaken’

• parātma-niṣṭhām: steadfastness in the Supreme Self
• parātma-niṣṭhām: Karma (object of āsthāya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para-ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘niṣṭhā’ (steadfastness) in the Supreme Self

• adhyāsitām: practised/occupied
• adhyāsitām: Viśeṣaṇa (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhi-√ās (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: Kṛdanta (past passive participle), Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; agreeing with niṣṭhām

• pūrvatamaiḥ: by the most ancient
• pūrvatamaiḥ: Karaṇa (agent in passive sense)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrvatama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Tṛtīyā vibhakti (Instrumental, 3rd), Bahuvacana; superlative ‘most ancient’

• maharṣibhiḥ: by great sages
• maharṣibhiḥ: Karaṇa (agent/instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maharṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Tṛtīyā, Bahuvacana

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aham (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṁliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; 1st person pronoun

• tariṣyāmi: will cross over
• tariṣyāmi: Kriyā (predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tṝ (धातु)
• Form: Luṭ (Periphrastic Future), Uttama-puruṣa (1st person), Ekavacana; parasmaipada

• duranta-pāram: the hard-to-cross far shore
• duranta-pāram: Karma (object, with tamo)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duranta (प्रातिपदिक) + pāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसakliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; karmadhāraya: ‘pāra’ that is ‘duranta’ (hard to reach)

• tamaḥ: darkness/ignorance
• tamaḥ: Karma (object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसakliṅga, Dvitīyā vibhakti (Accusative, 2nd), Ekavacana

• mukunda-aṅghri-niṣevayā: by service to Mukunda’s feet
• mukunda-aṅghri-niṣevayā: Karaṇa (instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukunda (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅghri (प्रातिपदik) + niṣevā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Tṛtīyā vibhakti (Instrumental, 3rd), Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa chain: ‘service’ of ‘the feet’ of Mukunda

• eva: alone/indeed
• eva: Sambandha (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, emphatic particle

Purport

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.

Characters & Entities

• Mukunda
• Maharṣis
• Yadu

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about crossing ignorance (tamas) and bondage?

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.

Why does the Avadhuta mention the ancient maharishis in this verse?

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.

Practical application of serving Mukunda’s feet in modern life?

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.