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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 7: The Son of Droṇa Punished
1.7.221.7.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.7.23

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Arjunasince 1.7.22inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

त्वमाद्य: पुरुष: साक्षादीश्वर: प्रकृते: पर: ।

मायां व्युदस्य चिच्छक्त्या कैवल्ये स्थित आत्मनि ॥ २३ ॥

tvam ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ sākṣād

īśvaraḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ

māyāṁ vyudasya cic-chaktyā

kaivalye sthita ātmani

Translation

You are the original Personality of Godhead who expands Himself all over the creations and is transcendental to material energy. You have cast away the effects of the material energy by dint of Your spiritual potency. You are always situated in eternal bliss and transcendental knowledge.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Original Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, from whom everything emanates. Lord Viṣṇu is His plenary expansion, and Paramātmā is included within Him.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa is like the sun, and material ignorance is like darkness. Surrender to His lotus feet releases one from ignorance.

  3. 3

    The Lord is beyond material actions and reactions, full of eternal bliss, knowledge and spiritual variety. His energies act under His control; they do not conduct the world independently.

Key points from the purport
  • The Lord is addressed herein as the original Personality of Godhead.
  • The Lord expands Himself in innumerable forms of Godhead and living beings, along with His different energies.
  • As the sun is full of light only, similarly the Absolute Personality of Godhead, beyond the material existence, is full of bliss.

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 ofSB 8.1.13

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.7.23): māyāṁ vyudasya cic-chaktyā kaivalye sthita ātmani.

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

Grief → Trust. Violence and bereavement make Kṛṣṇa's protective presence precious.

Chapters 7–9 of Canto 1: Postwar anguish, Kuntī and Bhīṣma. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 7: The Son of Droṇa Punished

Vyāsadeva compiles Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; Arjuna captures Aśvatthāmā, and Kṛṣṇa addresses the question of his punishment.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.7
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tvam ādyaḥYou are the original
  2. puruṣaḥthe enjoying personality
  3. sākṣātdirectly
  4. īśvaraḥthe controller
  5. prakṛteḥof material nature
  6. paraḥtranscendental
  7. māyāmthe material energy
  8. vyudasyaone who has thrown aside
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 1.7

    In this verse: “material”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 1.7

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 1.7

    In this verse: “surrender”

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 seeing Kṛṣṇa as the source and controller of all energies deepen my wish to surrender?

Practice

Offer a short prayer expressing your wish to take shelter at Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

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 todayKṛṣṇa Is the Original Supreme 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.

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