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

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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
1.3.261.3.28

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.3.27

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 1.3.1inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

ऋषयो मनवो देवा मनुपुत्रा महौजस: ।

कला: सर्वे हरेरेव सप्रजापतय: स्मृता: ॥ २७ ॥

ṛṣayo manavo devā

manu-putrā mahaujasaḥ

kalāḥ sarve harer eva

saprajāpatayaḥ smṛtāḥ

Translation

All the ṛṣis, Manus, demigods and descendants of Manu, who are especially powerful, are plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord. This also includes the Prajāpatis.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Extraordinary Power Comes From the Lord

  1. 1

    The especially powerful ṛṣis, Manus, demigods and descendants of Manu are plenary portions or portions of the Lord’s plenary portions.

  2. 2

    The translation includes the Prajāpatis among these manifestations of the Lord.

  3. 3

    The purport calls those who are comparatively less powerful vibhūti. Those who are comparatively more powerful are called āveśa incarnations.

Key points from the purport
  • Those who are comparatively less powerful are called vibhūti, and those who are comparatively more powerful are called āveśa incarnations.

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. ṛṣayaḥall the sages
  2. manavaḥall the Manus
  3. devāḥall the demigods
  4. manu-putrāḥall the descendants of Manu
  5. mahā-ojasaḥvery powerful
  6. kalāḥportion of the plenary portion
  7. sarveall collectively
  8. hareḥof the Lord
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

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

When I admire extraordinary power, do I remember its connection with the Lord?

Practice

Write the terms vibhūti and āveśa, noting the distinction in power given in the purport.

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 todayExtraordinary Power Comes From the LordThis 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 1.3.27? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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