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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.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 1 · Chapter 3: Kṛṣṇa Is the Source of All Incarnations
1.3.151.3.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.3.16

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 1.3.1inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

सुरासुराणामुदधिं मथ्नतां मन्दराचलम् ।

दध्रे कमठरूपेण पृष्ठ एकादशे विभु: ॥ १६ ॥

surāsurāṇām udadhiṁ

mathnatāṁ mandarācalam

dadhre kamaṭha-rūpeṇa

pṛṣṭha ekādaśe vibhuḥ

Translation

The eleventh incarnation of the Lord took the form of a tortoise whose shell served as a pivot for the Mandarācala Hill, which was being used as a churning rod by the theists and atheists of the universe.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Supports the Churning Hill

  1. 1

    In His eleventh incarnation, the Lord took the form of a tortoise.

  2. 2

    The theists and atheists churned the sea to produce nectar. They hoped to become deathless by drinking it.

  3. 3

    Mandarācala Hill served as the churning rod. The shell of Lord Tortoise became the hill's resting place and pivot in the seawater.

Key points from the purport
  • Once both the atheists and the theists were engaged in producing nectar from the sea so that all of them could become deathless by drinking it.
  • At that time the Mandarācala Hill was used as the churning rod, and the shell of Lord Tortoise, the incarnation of Godhead, became the resting place (pivot) of the hill in the seawater.

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 3: Kṛṣṇa Is the Source of All Incarnations

Sūta describes the Lord’s incarnations and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as His literary incarnation.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. surathe theists
  2. asurāṇāmof the atheists
  3. udadhimin the ocean
  4. mathnatāmchurning
  5. mandarācalamthe Mandarācala Hill
  6. dadhresustained
  7. kamaṭhatortoise
  8. rūpeṇain the form of
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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “deathless”

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

What impresses you about the Lord accepting the role of supporting the hill?

Practice

Reread the verse slowly, then recall how the Lord's shell supported Mandarācala Hill.

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. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Live this todayThe Lord Supports the Churning HillThis 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 1.3.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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