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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 28]
stories without a transcendental purpose. Some of them refer to real historical facts. One should be interested, however, in the real purport of the story. Indirect instruction is quickly understandable for a common man. Factually the path of  bhakti-yoga  is the path of hearing directly about the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead ( śravaṇam kīrtanam viṣṇoḥ ), but those who are not interested in hearing directly about the activities of the Lord, or who cannot understand them, can very effectively hear such stories and fables like this one narrated by Nārada Muni.
The following is a glossary of some of the important words in this chapter.
Ādeśakārī . The actions resulting from sinful activities.
Agastya . The mind.
Amātya . The governor of the senses, the mind.
Arbuda-arbuda . Various types of  śravaṇa  and  kīrtana  of the Supreme Lord's name, quality, form and so on.
Ari . Impediments like disease.
Bhoga . Enjoyment. Herein this word refers to real enjoyment in spiritual life.
Bhṛtya . The servants of the body, namely the senses.
Draviḍa-rāja . Devotional service or a person eligible to act in devotional service.
Dvāra . The doors of the body, such as the eyes and ears.
Gṛha . Home. For spiritual cultivation one requires an undisturbed place or the good association of devotees.
Idhmavāha . The devotee who approaches the spiritual master.  Idhma  refers to wood that is taken to burn as fuel for a fire. A  brahmacārī  is supposed to take this  idhma  to ignite the fire used in performing sacrifices. By spiritual instruction a  brahmacārī  is trained to ignite a fire and offer oblations in the morning. He is supposed to go to the spiritual master to take lessons on transcendental subject matter, and the Vedic injunction is that when approaching the spiritual master one must carry