Muni's PlayŚB 7.5.23-24
Sanskrit
श्रीप्रह्राद उवाच श्रवणं कीर्तनं विष्णो: स्मरणं पादसेवनम् । अर्चनं वन्दनं दास्यं सख्यमात्मनिवेदनम् ॥ २३ ॥ इति पुंसार्पिता विष्णौ भक्तिश्चेन्नवलक्षणा । क्रियेत भगवत्यद्धा तन्मन्येऽधीतमुत्तमम् ॥ २४ ॥
śrī-prahrāda uvāca śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam | arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam || 23 || iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā | kriyeta bhagavaty addhā tan manye ‘dhītam uttamam || 24 ||
Translation
Prahlada said: Hearing, chanting, and remembering Lord Viṣṇu, serving His lotus feet, worshiping Him, offering obeisances, becoming His servant, becoming His friend, and completely surrendering oneself unto Him—these are the nine forms of bhakti. If a person practices these nine forms of devotion to the Supreme Lord, I consider that to be the highest learning.
The Bhagavata Purana (verse 7.5.23) teaches nine forms of bhakti:
| Devanagari | Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| श्रवण | śravaṇa | listening to ancient texts |
| कीर्तन | kīrtana | praying |
| स्मरण | smaraṇa | remembering teachings in ancient texts |
| पादसेवन | pāda-sevana | service to the feet |
| अर्चन | archana | worshiping |
| नमस्कार / वन्दन | namaskar or vandana | bowing to the divine |
| दास्य | dāsya | service to the divine |
| सख्यत्व | sākhyatva | friendship with the divine |
| आत्मनिवेदन | ātma-nivedana | self-surrender to the divine |