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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
1.3.351.3.37

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.3.36

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

स वा इदं विश्वममोघलील:

सृजत्यवत्यत्ति न सज्जतेऽस्मिन् ।

भूतेषु चान्तर्हित आत्मतन्त्र:

षाड्‍वर्गिकं जिघ्रति षड्‍गुणेश: ॥ ३६ ॥

sa vā idaṁ viśvam amogha-līlaḥ

sṛjaty avaty atti na sajjate ’smin

bhūteṣu cāntarhita ātma-tantraḥ

ṣāḍ-vargikaṁ jighrati ṣaḍ-guṇeśaḥ

Translation

The Lord, whose activities are always spotless, is the master of the six senses and is fully omnipotent with six opulences. He creates the manifested universes, maintains them and annihilates them without being in the least affected. He is within every living being and is always independent.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Creates Yet Remains Unaffected

  1. 1

    The Lord is the creator, and the living beings are the created. His activities are spotless, and He remains independent while dwelling within every living being.

  2. 2

    He possesses all six opulences: wealth, power, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. Therefore He is the master of the senses and is beyond material afflictions.

  3. 3

    He creates the universes to reclaim the living beings suffering within them. He maintains and annihilates these universes without being affected, like someone smelling a fragrance without touching its source.

Key points from the purport
  • The prime difference between the Lord and the living entities is that the Lord is the creator and the living entities are the created.
  • He is transcendental to all material afflictions because He is full with all six opulences, namely wealth, power, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation, and thus He is the master of the senses.
  • He creates these manifested universes in order to reclaim the living beings who are within them suffering threefold miseries, maintains them, and in due course annihilates them without being the least affected by such actions.

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. saḥthe Supreme Lord
  2. vāalternately
  3. idamthis
  4. viśvammanifested universes
  5. amogha-līlaḥone whose activities are spotless
  6. sṛjaticreates
  7. avati attimaintains and annihilates
  8. nanot
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “wealth”, “material”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “suffering”

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 purpose of reclaiming suffering living beings shape my understanding of creation?

Practice

Today, pause for one minute to reflect on the Lord’s six opulences and His independence.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Creates Yet Remains UnaffectedThis 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 1.3.36? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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