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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
1.3.251.3.27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.3.26

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

अवतारा ह्यसङ्ख्येया हरे: सत्त्वनिधेर्द्विजा: ।

यथाविदासिन: कुल्या: सरस: स्यु: सहस्रश: ॥ २६ ॥

avatārā hy asaṅkhyeyā

hareḥ sattva-nidher dvijāḥ

yathāvidāsinaḥ kulyāḥ

sarasaḥ syuḥ sahasraśaḥ

Translation

O brāhmaṇas, the incarnations of the Lord are innumerable, like rivulets flowing from inexhaustible sources of water.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Incarnations Are Inexhaustible

  1. 1

    The incarnations listed are only a partial view. The Lord’s innumerable incarnations appear constantly throughout the universes, like water flowing from inexhaustible sources.

  2. 2

    Incarnations are distinguished by extraordinary feats impossible for ordinary living beings. Some are plenary portions, while others are empowered for particular functions, such as Śrī Nārada with devotional service.

  3. 3

    Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are the original source of other incarnations. In Kali-yuga, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu appears garbed as a devotee.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are not, therefore, incarnations, but the original source of all other incarnations.
  • So the Lord is the inexhaustible source for innumerable incarnations which are not always mentioned.
  • So the innumerable incarnations of the Lord are manifested all over the universes constantly, without cessation, as water flows constantly from waterfalls.

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

Connected verses· 2

Quoted in the purport ofSB 10.8.13

As described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.26): The avatāras incessantly appear, like incessantly flowing water.

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 20.249

This verse is quoted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.26).

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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. avatārāḥincarnations
  2. hicertainly
  3. asaṅkhyeyāḥinnumerable
  4. hareḥof Hari, the Lord
  5. sattva-nidheḥof the ocean of goodness
  6. dvijāḥthe brāhmaṇas
  7. yathāas it is
  8. avidāsinaḥinexhaustible
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotee”

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

How does the Lord’s appearance as a devotee deepen my appreciation for devotional service?

Practice

Spend one minute remembering the Lord’s inexhaustible manifestations and express your desire to serve Him.

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 todayThe Lord’s Incarnations Are InexhaustibleThis 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 1.3.26? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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