FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25.23

मदाश्रया: कथा मृष्टा:श‍ृण्वन्ति कथयन्ति च । तपन्ति विविधास्तापा नैतान्मद्गतचेतस: ॥ २३ ॥
mad-āśrayāḥ kathā mṛṣṭāḥ
[mad-aashrayaah kathaa mrishtaah]
śṛṇvanti kathayanti ca
[shrinvanti kathayanti cha]
tapanti vividhās tāpā
[tapanti vividhaas taapaa]
naitān mad-gata-cetasaḥ
[naitaan mad-gata-chetasah]
mat-āśrayāḥ — about Me kathāḥ — stories mṛṣṭāḥ — delightful śṛṇvanti — they hear kathayanti — they chant ca — and tapanti — inflict suffering vividhāḥ — various tāpāḥ — the material miseries na — do not etān — unto them mat-gata — fixed on Me cetasaḥ — their thoughts.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
mad-āśrayāḥ kathā mṛṣṭāḥ
mat-āśrayāḥ
about Me
kathāḥ
stories
mṛṣṭāḥ
delightful
śṛṇvanti kathayanti ca
śṛṇvanti
they hear
kathayanti
they chant
ca
and
tapanti vividhās tāpā
tapanti
inflict suffering
vividhāḥ
various
tāpāḥ
the material miseries
naitān mad-gata-cetasaḥ
na
do not
etān
unto them
mat-gata
fixed on Me
cetasaḥ
their thoughts.
Engaged constantly in chanting and hearing about Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the sādhus do not suffer from material miseries because they are always filled with thoughts of My pastimes and activities.

There are multifarious miseries in material existence — those pertaining to the body and the mind, those imposed by other living entities and those imposed by natural disturbances. But a sādhu is not disturbed by such miserable conditions because his mind is always filled with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thus he does not like to talk about anything but the activities of the Lord. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa did not speak of anything but the pastimes of the Lord. Vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane ( Bhāg. 9.4.18). He engaged his words only in glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sādhus are always interested in hearing about the activities of the Lord or His devotees. Since they are filled with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are forgetful of the material miseries. Ordinary conditioned souls, being forgetful of the activities of the Lord, are always full of anxieties and material tribulations. On the other hand, since the devotees always engage in the topics of the Lord, they are forgetful of the miseries of material existence.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Taking shelter of me, they recite and listen to pure stories. They are not afflicted by material miseries, and thus fully absorb their minds in me. They listen to pure (mrṣtāḥ) stories, not about māyā. The three material miseries do not afflict those devotees. Not afflicted by miseries, they are firmly fixed in me (mad-gata-cetasaḥ).
Related verses
The verse places hearing kṛṣṇa-kathā at the centre of spiritual practice. It is not preparation for some later realization — it is itself the work that does the rewiring. The pivot here is Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Reflection Questions
  • What podcast or playlist would you have to give up to make room for daily kṛṣṇa-kathā?
  • What input have you been allowing in that quietly undoes your hearing of the Lord?
📝 My note

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