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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 1 · Creation · 19 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
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Canto 1 · Chapter 13: Dhṛtarāṣṭra Quits Home
1.13.481.13.50

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.13.49

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 1.13.41inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

सोऽयमद्य महाराज भगवान् भूतभावन: ।

कालरूपोऽवतीर्णोऽस्यामभावाय सुरद्विषाम् ॥ ४९ ॥

so ’yam adya mahārāja

bhagavān bhūta-bhāvanaḥ

kāla-rūpo ’vatīrṇo ’syām

abhāvāya sura-dviṣām

Translation

That Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in the guise of all-devouring time [kāla-rūpa] has now descended to the earth to eliminate the envious from the world.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Reveals Himself According to Our Disposition

  1. 1

    Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the father of all living beings. Even those who envy Him are His children.

  2. 2

    The asuras envy both the Lord and other living beings, while the devatās obey the supreme father. The Lord rectifies the predominance of asuras and establishes the rule of His obedient devotees.

  3. 3

    The Lord's actual form is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss, and He reveals it to His devotees. To nondevotees He appears as all-devouring time, kāla-rūpa.

Key points from the purport
  • Since the Supreme Lord is one and the father of all living beings, the envious living beings are also His sons, but they are known as the asuras.
  • Not only are the asuras envious of the Lord in even denying the existence of the Lord, but they are also envious of all other living beings.
  • This causal form of the Lord is not at all pleasing to the asuras, and therefore they think of the Lord as formless in order to feel secure that they will not be vanquished by the Lord.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Bereavement → Renunciation. The worldly support system recedes and attachment is exposed.

Chapters 13–15 of Canto 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra departs; Kṛṣṇa disappears; Pāṇḍavas retire. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 13: Dhṛtarāṣṭra Quits Home

Vidura warns of inevitable death; Dhṛtarāṣṭra leaves home, and Yudhiṣṭhira finds his elders absent.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.13
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥthat Supreme Lord
  2. ayamthe Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa
  3. adyaat present
  4. mahārājaO King
  5. bhagavānthe Personality of Godhead
  6. bhūta-bhāvanaḥthe creator or the father of everything created
  7. kāla-rūpaḥin the disguise of all-devouring time
  8. avatīrṇaḥdescended
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 1.13

    In this verse: “father”, “children”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.13

    In this verse: “devotees”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 1.13

    In this verse: “knowledge”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where do I notice envy, rather than willingness to obey the Lord, in my own attitude?

Practice

Notice one envious thought today and pause to remember that the other living being also belongs to the supreme father.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Reveals Himself According to Our DispositionThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 1.13.49? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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