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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 1 · Chapter 2: Divinity and Divine Service
1.2.28-291.2.31

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.2.30

Sarga· Creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 1.2.2inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

स एवेदं ससर्जाग्रे भगवानात्ममायया ।

सदसद्रूपया चासौ गुणमयागुणो विभु: ॥ ३० ॥

sa evedaṁ sasarjāgre

bhagavān ātma-māyayā

sad-asad-rūpayā cāsau

guṇamayāguṇo vibhuḥ

Translation

In the beginning of the material creation, that Absolute Personality of Godhead [Vāsudeva], in His transcendental position, created the energies of cause and effect by His own internal energy.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Remains Beyond Material Qualities

  1. 1

    Vāsudeva created the energies of cause and effect by His own internal energy. Even the energies required for material creation come from Him.

  2. 2

    The Lord is always transcendental and is unaffected by the modes of material nature. His spiritual qualities are distinct from material qualities.

  3. 3

    His existence, form, activities and paraphernalia were present before material creation. He is all-spiritual, not a product of the material world.

Key points from the purport
  • The position of the Lord is always transcendental because the causal and effectual energies required for the creation of the material world were also created by Him.
  • He is unaffected, therefore, by the qualities of the material modes.
  • His existence, form, activities and paraphernalia all existed before the material creation.* He is all-spiritual and has nothing to do with the qualities of the material world, which are qualitatively distinct from the spiritual qualities of 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

Concern → Purpose. A spiritually urgent question emerges for the age of Kali.

Chapters 1–3 of Canto 1: The sages ask the ultimate questions. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 2: Divinity and Divine Service

Sūta explains how hearing about Kṛṣṇa and rendering devotional service purify the heart.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.2
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥthat
  2. evacertainly
  3. idamthis
  4. sasarjacreated
  5. agrebefore
  6. bhagavānthe Personality of Godhead
  7. ātma-māyayāby His personal potency
  8. satthe cause
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sarga · The creation of the universe

    Where does the universe come from? · Subject 1 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 1.2

    In this verse: “material”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I sometimes think of the Lord's form or activities as limited by material nature?

Practice

Read the translation slowly today and reflect for one minute on the Lord's existence before material creation.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it · quoted in 1 more lecture. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 1 other lecture

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayThe Lord Remains Beyond Material QualitiesThis 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 1.2.30? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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