SB 11.9.9 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.9.9

అన్వశిక్షమిమం తస్యా ఉపదేశమరిన్దమ । లోకాననుచరన్నేతాన్ లోకతత్త్వవివిత్సయా ॥ ౯ ॥

anvaśikṣam imaṁ tasyā

[anvashiksham imam tasyaa]

upadeśam arindama

[upadesham arindama]

lokān anucarann etān

[lokaan anucharann etaan]

loka-tattva-vivitsayā

[loka-tattva-vivitsayaa]

Word-for-word

anvaśikṣam — I have seen with my own eyes imam — this tasyāḥ — of the young girl upadeśam — lesson arim-dama — O subduer of the enemy lokān — worlds anucaran — wandering etān — these loka — of the world tattva — truth vivitsayā — with a desire to know.

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

anvaśikṣam imaṁ tasyā

anvaśikṣam

I have seen with my own eyes

imam

this

tasyāḥ

of the young girl

upadeśam arindama

upadeśam

lesson

arim-dama

O subduer of the enemy

lokān anucarann etān

lokān

worlds

anucaran

wandering

etān

these

loka-tattva-vivitsayā

loka

of the world

tattva

truth

vivitsayā

with a desire to know.

O subduer of the enemy, I travel throughout the surface of the earth learning constantly about the nature of this world, and thus I personally witnessed the lesson of the young girl.

Purport

The brāhmaṇa sage here explains to King Yadu that he is not presenting theoretical knowledge. Rather, by wandering throughout the world the observant and thoughtful brāhmaṇa has personally experienced the lessons learned from all of the above-mentioned gurus. Thus, instead of posing himself to be omniscient like God, he humbly explains that he has faithfully learned these lessons in his travels.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

O subduer of the enemy! I travel throughout the surface of the earth learning constantly about the nature of this world, and thus I personally witnessed the lesson of the young girl. I was at the house on that day. I saw all these gurus with my own eyes, not from being omniscient.

Personal Guidance

Real knowledge is earned by walking the world with open eyes; the humble brāhmaṇa learns from life itself, not from posing as all-knowing.

Practical Applications

Today, name one person or situation outside your usual circle and extract a single concrete lesson from it before sleeping.
Refuse to speak on any subject today as if you already know it — preface your views with what you have personally observed.
Walk one familiar route as a student of loka-tattva, noting one human pattern (greed, fear, attachment) you would otherwise have missed.

Reflection Questions

Where am I presenting borrowed conclusions as if they were my own hard-won realization, and whom does that posture harm?
What part of the world have I refused to travel through — literally or in attention — because I already decided what it would teach me?

For Each Age Group

youth

Pick one classmate or coworker whose worldview annoys you and spend a real conversation learning what life taught them, not correcting them.
Before posting an opinion online today, ask whether you have personally lived through what you are about to declare.
Treat one failed exam, rejection, or friendship rupture this week as your guru and write down the single lesson it pressed into you.

householder

At dinner, ask your spouse or child what life is currently teaching them and listen without offering a fix or a verse.
Refuse the temptation to lecture your children from authority alone; share one situation where your own observation, not theory, changed your mind.
When making a money or career decision this month, consult one person whose lived experience differs from yours before deciding.

senior

Choose one lesson the decades have actually carved into you and tell it plainly to a younger person, without dressing it up as wisdom.
Walk through your neighborhood as a student again, noticing what attachment and bewilderment look like in others — and where the same patterns still live in you.
Resist the elder's reflex to pronounce; this week, ask three sincere questions of life for every one answer you offer.

Common Pitfalls

Mistaking restless wandering and novelty-seeking for the sage's deliberate study of loka-tattva.
Collecting observations about others while exempting one's own conduct from the same scrutiny.
Using 'I am still learning' as a humble-sounding cover for refusing to commit to surrender and sādhana.

Discussion Prompts

Share one lesson life has actually drilled into you versus one you only know from books — where do they conflict?
When is humility about one's knowledge genuine sādhana, and when does it become an excuse to never take a stand?
How do we distinguish a guru who has personally realized a teaching from one who is merely repeating it well?

Role Play

A confident new devotee returns from a weekend retreat and begins instructing the local congregation on detachment, quoting verses fluently. An older member gently asks where in their own life this has been tested. Two students play the new devotee and the elder; a third observes and reports whether the conversation moved toward honesty or self-defense.

Objections & Responses

Why wander the world for lessons when scripture already contains all truth — isn't this just glorified tourism?
Scripture is the map, but the brāhmaṇa shows that a map unwalked stays theoretical; loka-tattva-vivitsā means letting the world confirm in your bones what guru and śāstra have already declared, so that your teaching is not hearsay.
In a Krishna-conscious life we are told to withdraw from material association — doesn't this verse contradict that by praising worldly observation?
The sage does not enjoy the world; he studies it with vairāgya, the way a doctor studies disease. Engagement guided by the desire to know Krishna's arrangement is itself bhakti, while withdrawal that breeds pride is not.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io