1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 1 · Creation · 19 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819

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 3: Kṛṣṇa Is the Source of All Incarnations
1.3.241.3.26

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.3.25

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

अथासौ युगसन्ध्यायां दस्युप्रायेषु राजसु ।

जनिता विष्णुयशसो नाम्ना कल्किर्जगत्पति: ॥ २५ ॥

athāsau yuga-sandhyāyāṁ

dasyu-prāyeṣu rājasu

janitā viṣṇu-yaśaso

nāmnā kalkir jagat-patiḥ

Translation

Thereafter, at the conjunction of two yugas, the Lord of the creation will take His birth as the Kalki incarnation and become the son of Viṣṇu Yaśā. At this time almost all the rulers of the earth will have degenerated into plunderers.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kalki’s Advent Is Foretold

  1. 1

    The Lord of creation will appear as Kalki when almost all earthly rulers have become plunderers.

  2. 2

    His appearance will occur at the end of Kali-yuga and the beginning of Satya-yuga. The four yugas rotate like the months of a calendar.

  3. 3

    The purport names His father as Viṣṇu Yaśā, a learned brāhmaṇa, and His village as Śambhala. These specific predictions are presented as evidence of the authority of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Key points from the purport
  • Here is another foretelling of the advent of Lord Kalki, the incarnation of Godhead.
  • He is to appear at the conjunction of the two yugas, namely at the end of Kali-yuga and the beginning of Satya-yuga.
  • Therefore at the end of this period, the incarnation of Kalki will take place, as foretold in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

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. athathereafter
  2. asauthe same Lord
  3. yuga-sandhyāyāmat the conjunction of the yugas
  4. dasyuplunderers
  5. prāyeṣualmost all
  6. rājasuthe governing personalities
  7. janitāwill take His birth
  8. viṣṇunamed Viṣṇu
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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “rulers”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “father”

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 does this detailed foretelling invite me to consider about the authority of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam?

Practice

Write down the three details given about Kalki’s appearance: the time, His father and the village.

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.

7

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 1.3's connections

Live this todayKalki’s Advent Is ForetoldThis 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 1.3.25? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories