Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.9.30
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThe Sage Returns With the Lord’s Breath
“He saw before him the Himālaya Mountains, the Puṣpabhadrā River, and his own hermitage, where he had had the audience of the sages Nara-Nārāyaṇa. Then, as Mārkaṇḍeya beheld the entire universe, the infant exhaled, expelling the sage from His body and casting him back into the ocean of dissolution.”
What the purport teaches
- Mārkaṇḍeya saw the Himālaya Mountains, the Puṣpabhadrā River, and his own hermitage within the infant.
- He recognized the place where he had received the audience of the sages Nara-Nārāyaṇa.
- While he was beholding the entire universe, the infant exhaled. The sage was expelled from His body and cast back into the ocean of dissolution.
Try this today
Read the verse slowly, pausing at the moment when the infant’s exhalation returns the sage to the ocean.
Ask yourself
How does the sage’s return through the infant’s breath deepen your wonder at the Lord?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.