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
1.3.401.3.42

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.3.41

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

तदिदं ग्राहयामास सुतमात्मवतां वरम् ।

सर्ववेदेतिहासानां सारं सारं समुद्‍धृतम् ॥ ४१ ॥

tad idaṁ grāhayām āsa

sutam ātmavatāṁ varam

sarva-vedetihāsānāṁ

sāraṁ sāraṁ samuddhṛtam

Translation

Śrī Vyāsadeva delivered it to his son, who is the most respected among the self-realized, after extracting the cream of all Vedic literatures and histories of the universe.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Receive the Cream of Vedic Knowledge

  1. 1

    Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the cream of Vedic literature, containing instructive and authentic accounts of the Lord and His devotees. The purpose of all the Vedas is to know Lord Kṛṣṇa.

  2. 2

    Its histories concern the Lord’s activities in different times and on different planets. The purport cautions us not to reject them as imaginary simply because they differ from our experience.

  3. 3

    Vyāsadeva delivered this knowledge to his self-realized son, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī. It should be received from a renounced representative of Śukadeva who strictly follows Vaiṣṇava discipline, not from someone making a business of it.

Key points from the purport
  • All the stories mentioned in the Purāṇas and Mahābhārata, etc., are actual histories, not only of this planet but also of millions of other planets within the universe.
  • We should not, therefore, reject the stories and histories of the Purāṇas as imaginary.
  • In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam historical facts selected from the histories of different planets have been depicted.

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· 1

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 25.145

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.41).

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. tatthat
  2. idamthis
  3. grāhayām āsamade to accept
  4. sutamunto his son
  5. ātmavatāmof the self-realized
  6. varammost respectful
  7. sarvaall
  8. vedaVedic literatures (books of knowledge)
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: “devotees”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “renounced”

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

Am I willing to hear with humility when an account of the Lord exceeds my experience?

Practice

Reread one passage you find unfamiliar, noting what it teaches about the Lord rather than dismissing it.

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.

Quoted in 1 lecture. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 1 lecture

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayReceive the Cream of Vedic KnowledgeThis 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 1.3.41? 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