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

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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 10.40.13-14

अग्निर्मुखं तेऽवनिरङ्‍‍‍‍‍घ्रिरीक्षणं

सूर्यो नभो नाभिरथो दिश: श्रुति: ।

द्यौ: कं सुरेन्द्रास्तव बाहवोऽर्णवा:

कुक्षिर्मरुत् प्राणबलं प्रकल्पितम् ॥ १३ ॥

रोमाणि वृक्षौषधय: शिरोरुहा

मेघा: परस्यास्थिनखानि तेऽद्रय: ।

निमेषणं रात्र्यहनी प्रजापति-

र्मेढ्रस्तु वृष्टिस्तव वीर्यमिष्यते ॥ १४ ॥

agnir mukhaṁ te ’vanir aṅghrir īkṣaṇaṁ

sūryo nabho nābhir atho diśaḥ śrutiḥ

dyauḥ kaṁ surendrās tava bāhavo ’rṇavāḥ

kukṣir marut prāṇa-balaṁ prakalpitam

romāṇi vṛkṣauṣadhayaḥ śiroruhā

meghāḥ parasyāsthi-nakhāni te ’drayaḥ

nimeṣaṇaṁ rātry-ahanī prajāpatir

meḍhras tu vṛṣṭis tava vīryam iṣyate

Translation

Fire is said to be Your face, the earth Your feet, the sun Your eye, and the sky Your navel. The directions are Your sense of hearing, the chief demigods Your arms, and the oceans Your abdomen. Heaven is thought to be Your head, and the wind Your vital air and physical strength. The trees and plants are the hairs on Your body, the clouds the hair on Your head, and the mountains the bones and nails of You, the Supreme. The passage of day and night is the blinking of Your eyes, the progenitor of mankind Your genitals, and the rain Your semen.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Seeing the World in Relation to Him

  1. 1

    Fire is described as the Supreme Lord’s face, the earth as His feet, the sun as His eye and the sky as His navel.

  2. 2

    The directions are His hearing, the chief demigods His arms, the oceans His abdomen and heaven His head. The wind is His vital air and physical strength.

  3. 3

    Trees and plants are His bodily hairs, clouds His head hair, and mountains His bones and nails. Day and night are His blinking, the progenitor of mankind His genitals, and rain His semen.

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.