FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 18.71

శ్రద్ధావాననసూయశ్చ శ‍ృణుయాదపి యో నర: । సోఽపి ముక్త: శుభాఁల్ల‍ోకాన్ప్రాప్‍నుయాత్పుణ్యకర్మణామ్ ॥ ౭౧ ॥
śraddhāvān anasūyaś ca
[shraddhaavaan anasooyash cha]
śṛṇuyād api yo naraḥ
[shrinuyaad api yo narah]
so ’pi muktaḥ śubhāḻ lokān
[so ’pi muktah shubhaaḻ lokaan]
prāpnuyāt puṇya-karmaṇām
[praapnuyaat punya-karmanaam]
Word-for-word
śraddhā - vān — faithful anasūyaḥ — not envious ca — and śṛṇuyāt — does hear api — certainly yaḥ — who naraḥ — a man saḥ — he api — also muktaḥ — being liberated śubhān — the auspicious lokān — planets prāpnuyāt — he attains puṇya - karmaṇām — of the pious .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śraddhāvān anasūyaś ca
śraddhā - vān
faithful
anasūyaḥ
not envious
ca
and
śṛṇuyād api yo naraḥ
śṛṇuyāt
does hear
api
certainly
so ’pi muktaḥ śubhāḻ lokān
prāpnuyāt puṇya-karmaṇām
yaḥ
who
naraḥ
a man
saḥ
he
api
also
muktaḥ
being liberated
śubhān
the auspicious
lokān
planets
prāpnuyāt
he attains
puṇya - karmaṇām
of the pious .
Important Words
  • śraddhā-vān — faithful
    Compound noun. The first qualifier of the hearer — having śraddhā. Without faith, even hearing produces no purification. With faith, hearing alone is enough.
  • anasūyaḥ — non-envious
    Negative compound. The second qualifier — without asūyā (envy/spite toward Kṛṣṇa or the teaching). The same disqualification as verse 67, now stated positively for the qualified hearer.
  • śṛṇuyāt — (would) hear
    Optative — *should hear* / *if one hears*. The verb governs the whole verse. Mere hearing — not full study, not teaching — is the act being rewarded here.
  • muktaḥ — being liberated (from sin)
    Past participle. The first reward — *already* liberated from sin by the act of faithful hearing. The verse compresses an enormous purification into a small act.
  • lokān — the planets
    Accusative plural. With śubhān: the auspicious worlds. The second reward — auspicious destinations. The verse promises both purification (now) and destination (later) for the faithful hearer.
And one who listens with faith and without envy becomes free from sinful reactions and attains to the auspicious planets where the pious dwell.
Purport

In the sixty-seventh verse of this chapter, the Lord explicitly forbade the Gītā’s being spoken to those who are envious of the Lord. In other words, Bhagavad-gītā is for the devotees only. But it so happens that sometimes a devotee of the Lord will hold open class, and in that class not all the students are expected to be devotees. Why do such persons hold open class? It is explained here that although not everyone is a devotee, still there are many men who are not envious of Kṛṣṇa. They have faith in Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If such persons hear from a bona fide devotee about the Lord, the result is that they become at once free from all sinful reactions and after that attain to the planetary system where all righteous persons are situated. Therefore simply by hearing Bhagavad-gītā, even a person who does not try to be a pure devotee attains the result of righteous activities. Thus a pure devotee of the Lord gives everyone a chance to become free from all sinful reactions and to become a devotee of the Lord. Generally those who are free from sinful reactions, those who are righteous, very easily take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The word puṇya-karmaṇām is very significant here. This refers to the performance of great sacrifices, like the aśvamedha-yajña, mentioned in the Vedic literature. Those who are righteous in performing devotional service but who are not pure can attain the planetary system of the polestar, or Dhruvaloka, where Dhruva Mahārāja is presiding. He is a great devotee of the Lord, and he has a special planet, which is called the polestar.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
71. Even that person who, being full of faith, without envy, just hears this teaching, will become free of sin and attain the auspicious world of devotees.
Commentary

This verse states the results of hearing the Gītā .

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
71. And that person who, being full of faith, without envy, just hears this teaching will become free of sin and attain the auspicious world of devotees.
Commentary

This verse describes the result for the hearer of the Gītā. He who hears with faith alone, without envy—not finding fault in it by thinking “What is the purpose of his reciting?” or “Why does he recites an inaccurate text in a loud voice,” becomes free of all sins, and will attain the planets of those who perform aśvamedha sacrifices, or the planets of the devotees such as Dhruvaloka, the variety of vaikuṇthas.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Translation
And one who listens with faith and without envy becomes free from sinful reactions and attains to the auspicious planets where the pious dwell. (cn) Not only one who studies but even one who hears, as long as he hears without envy, is greatly benefited. And Srila Prabhupada explains in his Purport: "In the sixty‑ seventh verse of this chapter, the Lord explicitly forbade the Gita's being spoken to those who are envious of the Lord. In other words, Bhagavad‑gita is for the devotees only. But it so happens that sometimes a devotee of the Lord will hold open class, and in that class not all the students are expected to be devotees. Why do such persons hold open class? It is explained here that although not everyone is a devotee, still there are many men who are not envious of Krsna. They have faith in Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If such persons hear from a bona fide devotee about the Lord, the result is that they become at once free from all sinful reactions and after that attain to the planetary system where all righteous persons are situated. Therefore simply by hearing Bhagavad‑gita, even a person who does not try to be a pure devotee attains the result of righteous activities. Thus a pure devotee of the Lord gives everyone a chance to become free from all sinful reactions and to become a devotee of the Lord."
Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Benediction for the student

THEME: If one hears with faith and without envy

He becomes free from sinful reaction
He attains to the auspicious planets where the pious dwells

SUMMARISED THEME 18B

WHAT TO DO WITH THE KNOWLEDGE GIVEN IN BHAGAVAD-GITA

A) Distribute it

Then pure devotional service is guaranteed
One will go to Krishna

B) Study it

This is worship with one’s intelligence

C) Hear it with faith and without envy. It results in:

Freedom from sinful reactions
Attain to the auspicious planets where the pious dwell.
Focus of Learning

(a) Why a devotee holds open classes if 18.67 recommends that one should not preach to the

envious

Although everyone is not a devotee still many men are non-envious
They have faith in Him as Supreme Personality of Godhead
Result - Hearing from a bona-fide devotee will free them from sinful reactions and they will attain to the planets of righteous persons
Even a person who does not try to be a pure devotee attains the results of righteous activities

(b) Importance of “Punya-Karmanam”

It refers to the performance of great sacrifices like ‘Asvamedha-yajna’
Those righteous in performing devotional service but not pure, can attain the planetary system of Pole-Star, Dhruvaloka
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
18.71 Yah narah, any man who; being sraddhavan, reverential; and anasuyah, free from cavilling; srnuyat api, might even hear this text-the word even suggests that one who knows the meaning (of the Scripture) hardly needs to be mentioned-; sah api, he too; becoming muktah, free from sin; prapnuyat, shall attain; subhan, the blessed, auspicious; lokan, worlds; punya-karmanam, of those who perform virtuous deeds, of those who perform rites like Agnihotra etc. In order to ascertaini whether or not the disciple has comprehended the meaning of the Scripture, the Lord asks (the following estion), the intention of the estioner beings, 'If it is known that it has not been comprehended, I shall again make him grasp it through other means.' Hery is shown the duty of the teacher that a student should be made to achieve his goal by taking the help of a different method.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
18.71 A man who, with faith and without cavilling, hears the Gita when faught by a alified teacher, he too is, by such hearing, released from all evil incompatible with devotional life. He shall reach the Lokas, i.e., the realms of the hosts of My devotees who have done virtuous acts, and who will facilitate the growth of devotion in these new arrivals and lead them ultimately to liberation.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
18.71 See Comment under 18.72
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
18.71 Also the man who hears this, full of faith and free from malice, he, too, liberated, shall attain to the happy worlds of those of righteous deeds.
Commentary

18.71 श्रद्धावान् full of faith? अनसूयः free from malice? च and? श्रृणुयात् may hear? अपि also? यः who? नरः man? सः he? अपि also? मुक्तः liberated? शुभान् happy? लोकान् worlds? प्राप्नुयात् shall attain? पुण्यकर्मणाम् of those of righteous deeds.Commentary Liberated from sin.Punyakarmanam Of those who have done Agnihotra and such other sacrifices.He too Much more so who understands the teachings of the Gita? lives in its spirit and who practises the most valuable spiritual instructions contained in it.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
18.71 Any man who, being reverential and free from cavilling, might even hear (this), he too, becoming free, shall attain the blessed worlds of those who perform virtuous deeds.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
18.71 Yea, he who listens to it with faith and without doubt, even he, freed from evil, shalt rise to the worlds which the virtuous attain through righteous deeds.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 9.30 BG 2.40 BG 4.39 SB 10.14.3 SB 11.14.17 SB 1.7.7 CC Madhya 22.87 CC Madhya 24.124 CC Antya 1.191 BRS 1.2.92 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Even one who only listens with faith, free of envy, becomes liberated from sin and attains pious worlds.
Practical Applications
  • Listen to the Gītā regularly, even when you can't read.
  • Pair audio with daily routines.
  • Trust hearing as a complete practice.
Reflection Questions
  • What audio practice could I add?
  • What time naturally suits hearing?
Analogy

A traveler stops by the river to listen — and not even to recite, only to listen — and the river's holy water washes him as fully as if he had bathed in it. Hearing the Gītā with faith is precisely such a bath in flowing speech.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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