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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
1.3.41.3.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.3.5

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

एतन्नानावताराणां निधानं बीजमव्ययम् ।

यस्यांशांशेन सृज्यन्ते देवतिर्यङ्‍नरादय: ॥ ५ ॥

etan nānāvatārāṇāṁ

nidhānaṁ bījam avyayam

yasyāṁśāṁśena sṛjyante

deva-tiryaṅ-narādayaḥ

Translation

This form [the second manifestation of the puruṣa] is the source and indestructible seed of multifarious incarnations within the universe. From the particles and portions of this form, different living entities, like demigods, men and others, are created.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Understand Incarnations Through Revealed Scripture

  1. 1

    Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is the Lord of the universe and remains transcendental even while lying within it. His plenary expansion, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, is the source of all incarnations within the universe.

  2. 2

    Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva take charge of creation, maintenance and destruction. Viṣṇu is nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead; Brahmā is an empowered living being, while Śiva is not an ordinary living being.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s incarnations are innumerable, and their features and missions are described in revealed scriptures. Great sages recognize an incarnation by these descriptions, not merely by someone’s claim.

Key points from the purport
  • Brahmā became the engineer of the universe, and the Lord Himself took charge of the maintenance of the universe as Viṣṇu.
  • Therefore all three, namely Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, are incarnations of the Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.
  • Then there are qualitative incarnations such as Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva (or Rudra) who take charge of the different modes of material nature.

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. etatthis (form)
  2. nānāmultifarious
  3. avatārāṇāmof the incarnations
  4. nidhānamsource
  5. bījamseed
  6. avyayamindestructible
  7. yasyawhose
  8. aṁśaplenary portion
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

Why is scriptural evidence more reliable than someone’s claim to be an incarnation?

Practice

Write down the two things to check in revealed scripture when considering an incarnation: His features and His mission.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

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 todayUnderstand Incarnations Through Revealed ScriptureThis 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 1.3.5? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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