Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.87.9
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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satram
—
a sacrifice
A specific class of Vedic yajña lasting many days. The verse uses it for a sacrifice of sound rather than substance — Gauḍīyas read this as foreshadowing saṅkīrtana-yajña, the prescribed yuga-dharma (SB 11.5.32, CC Ādi 3.78).
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brahma
—
performed by the utterance of transcendental sound
Here brahma = the Vedic mantra-sound itself. Gauḍīyas note: śabda-brahma and para-brahma are not two — the Lord and His name are non-different (CC Madhya 17.131-133).
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mānasānām
—
born from the mind (of Brahmā)
Genitive plural of mānasa, from manas. The sages were generated by pure mental will, not by lust. Gauḍīyas read this as the proper origin-story for a teacher of bhakti — niṣkāma from the first instant.
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ūrdhva-retasām
—
whose semen (flowed) upward
Compound: ūrdhva (upward) + retas (semen). The yogic term for perfect brahmacarya — the generative force redirected toward Bhagavān. The chapter's deepest doctrine is delivered by those whose vital force was never spilled outward.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that the word satram here refers to a Vedic sacrifice in which all the participants are equally qualified to serve as priests. In this instance, each of the sages present in Janaloka could speak equally well on the topic of Brahman.
When the performers of sacrifice who are all equally qualified perform sacrifice it is called karma satra. Where the listeners and speaker of spiritual topics are equally qualified it is called brahma satra. "O son of brahma (svayambhuva), the qualified inhabitants of Janaloka, the mental sons of brahma, previously held this discussion on Brahman (brahma satra)."
O Nārada, son of Brahmā! The sages were engaged in a sacrifice concerning knowledge of the Vedas. Since that discussion was similar to this, you are qualified to hear about it. These sages were the mental sons of Brahmā, and therefore very pure. They were dedicated to contemplation of the Lord (munīnām) and were brahmacārīs since birth. Thus they were also qualified for the discussion concerning the Vedas.
O Nārada, son of Brahmā! The sages were engaged in a sacrifice concerning knowledge of the Vedas. Since that discussion was similar to this, you are qualified to hear about it. These sages were the mental sons of Brahmā, and therefore very pure. They were dedicated to jñāna munīnām) and were brahmacārīs since birth. Thus they were also qualified for the discussion concerning the Vedas.
- What 'sacrifice' or sustained group practice produces my deepest teaching?
- Where would joining a community of practitioners open conversations not available alone?
The mānasa-putras of Brahmā, born from his mind rather than his body, perform a sacrifice not of ghee but of sound — the very Vedic mantras as oblation, their bodies kept pure as the fire-pit. They show that the highest yajña is the careful, celibate utterance of Bhagavān's names.
From Brahmā's mind sprang Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanandana, Sanat-kumāra, Marīci, Atri, Aṅgirā, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhṛgu, Vasiṣṭha, and Nārada — the mānasa-putras. They are 'born' without sexual union, modeling the celibate sage as the archetype of receptivity to brahma-vidyā.
Gauḍīyas honour them as a separate paramparā-source, and read this verse's ūrdhva-retasām (celibate) as proof that brahmacarya is the supporting bedrock of the chapter's stuti — Sanandana, who will recite the prayers, is one of them.
My note
Source: vedabase.io