Bg. 18.71

BG 18.71

Devanagari

श्रद्धावाननसूयश्च श‍ृणुयादपि यो नर: । सोऽपि मुक्त: शुभाँल्ल‍ोकान्प्राप्‍नुयात्पुण्यकर्मणाम् ॥ ७१ ॥

Verse text

śraddhāvān anasūyaś ca śṛṇuyād api yo naraḥ so ’pi muktaḥ śubhāḻ lokān prāpnuyāt puṇya-karmaṇām

Synonyms

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.

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.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

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.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

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.

Translation (Bhurijana Dasa)

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."

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-yajṣa, 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.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

This verse states the results of hearing the Gītā .

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

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.