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

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Canto 11 · General History · 31 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 11 · Chapter 15: Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Description of Mystic Yoga Perfections
11.15.1111.15.13

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.15.12

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 11.15.3inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → Uddhava

परमाणुमये चित्तं भूतानां मयि रञ्जयन् ।

कालसूक्ष्मार्थतां योगी लघिमानमवाप्नुयात् ॥ १२ ॥

paramāṇu-maye cittaṁ

bhūtānāṁ mayi rañjayan

kāla-sūkṣmārthatāṁ yogī

laghimānam avāpnuyāt

Translation

I exist within everything, and I am therefore the essence of the atomic constituents of material elements. By attaching his mind to Me in this form, the yogī may achieve the perfection called laghimā, by which he realizes the subtle atomic substance of time.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

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.

Time Is a Potency of the Lord

  1. 1

    The Lord exists within everything and is the essence of the atomic constituents of material elements.

  2. 2

    Time is the transcendental form of the Lord that moves the material world. Atomic particles are the subtle substance or manifestation of time’s movements.

  3. 3

    The Personality of Godhead is more subtle than time and expands His potency as the time factor. By clearly understanding this and attaching the mind to Him in this form, the yogī obtains laghimā, becoming lighter than the lightest.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam elaborately explains that kāla, or time, is the transcendental form of the Lord that moves the material world.
  • Since the five gross elements are composed of atoms, the atomic particles are the subtle substance or manifestation of the movements of time.
  • More subtle than time is the Personality of Godhead Himself, who expands His potency as the time factor.

The purport'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

Uncertainty → Clarity. The coming separation makes the instruction personally urgent.

Chapters 10–20 of Canto 11: Kṛṣṇa's teachings on self, yoga and wisdom. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 15: Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Description of Mystic Yoga Perfections

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

They are developed by fixing one’s mind in yoga, but they are ultimately obstructions to achieving the spiritual abode of Lord Viṣṇu. Being questioned by Uddhava, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa describes the characteristics of the eighteen mystic perfections and the particular kind of meditation by which each is achieved.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.15
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. parama-aṇu-mayein the form of atoms
  2. cittamhis consciousness
  3. bhūtānāmof the material elements
  4. mayiin Me
  5. rañjayanattaching
  6. kālaof time
  7. sūkṣmasubtle
  8. arthatāmbeing the substance
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 11.15

    In this verse: “attaching”, “material”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 11.15

    In this verse: “understanding”

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 understanding time as the Lord’s potency affect the way I see the material world?

Practice

As you notice one material change today, pause to remember that the Lord’s potency as time moves the material world.

Live this todayTime Is a Potency of the 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.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 11.15.12? Get an answer from the verses themselves.