माहात्म्यं विष्णुभक्तानां श्रुत्वा बन्धाद्विमुच्यते ॥४०॥
itihÄsam imaá¹ puṇyaá¹
citraketor mahÄtmanaḥ
mÄhÄtmyaá¹ viṣṇu-bhaktÄnÄá¹
Å›rutvÄ bandhÄd vimucyate
itihÄsam - history; imam - this; puṇyam - very pious; citraketoḥ - of Citraketu; mahÄ-Ätmanaḥ - the exalted devotee; mÄhÄtmyam - containing glory; viṣṇu-bhaktÄnÄm - from the devotees of Viṣṇu; Å›rutvÄ - hearing; bandhÄt - from bondage or conditional, material life; vimucyate - is freed.
Citraketu was a great devotee [mahÄtmÄ]. If one hears this history of Citraketu from a pure devotee, the listener also is freed from the conditional life of material existence.
The historical incidents in the PurÄṇas, such as the history of Citraketu explained in the BhÄgavata PurÄṇa, are sometimes misunderstood by outsiders, or nondevotees. Therefore Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« advised that the history of Citraketu be heard from a devotee. Anything about devotional service or the characteristics of the Lord and His devotees must be heard from a devotee, not from a professional reciter. This is advised herein. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu’s secretary also advised that one learn the history of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam from a devotee: yÄha, bhÄgavata pada vaiṣṇavera sthÄne. One should not hear the statements of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam from professional reciters, or else they will not be effective. Quoting from Padma PurÄṇa, ÅšrÄ« SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« has strictly forbidden us to hear about the activities of the Lord and His devotees from the mouths of nondevotees:
avaiṣṇava-mukhodgÄ«rṇaá¹
pÅ«taá¹ hari-kathÄmá¹›tam
Å›ravaṇaá¹ naiva kartavyaá¹
sarpocchiá¹£á¹aá¹ yathÄ payaḥ
“One should not hear anything about Kṛṣṇa from a non-Vaiṣṇava. Milk touched by the lips of a serpent has poisonous effects; similarly, talks about Kṛṣṇa given by a non-Vaiṣṇava are also poisonous.†One must be a bona fide devotee, and then he can preach and impress devotional service upon his listeners.
