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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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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 11 · Chapter 16: The Lord’s Opulence
11.16.2611.16.28

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.16.27

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 11.16.6inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → Uddhava

संवत्सरोऽस्म्यनिमिषामृतूनां मधुमाधवौ ।

मासानां मार्गशीर्षोऽहं नक्षत्राणां तथाभिजित् ॥ २७ ॥

saṁvatsaro ’smy animiṣām

ṛtūnāṁ madhu-mādhavau

māsānāṁ mārgaśīrṣo ’haṁ

nakṣatrāṇāṁ tathābhijit

Translation

Among the vigilant cycles of time I am the year, and among seasons I am spring. Among months I am Mārgaśīrṣa, and among lunar houses I am the auspicious Abhijit.

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.

Remembering the Lord Through Time

  1. 1

    Among the vigilant cycles of time, the Lord identifies Himself with the year.

  2. 2

    Among seasons, the Lord identifies Himself with spring.

  3. 3

    Among months, the Lord identifies Himself with Mārgaśīrṣa, and among lunar houses with the auspicious Abhijit.

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 16: The Lord’s Opulence

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa then described all these opulences, after which He commented that all power, beauty, fame, opulence, humility, charity, charm, good fortune, valor, tolerance and wisdom — wherever they are manifest — are simply expansions from Himself. It therefore cannot be truthfully said that a material object actually possesses these opulences.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saṁvatsaraḥthe year
  2. asmiI am
  3. animiṣāmamong the vigilant cycles of time
  4. ṛtūnāmamong seasons
  5. madhu-mādhavauspring
  6. māsānāmamong months
  7. mārgaśīrṣaḥMārgaśīrṣa (November-December)
  8. ahamI am
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

How can the passage of time become a reminder of the Lord for me?

Practice

When you look at a calendar today, remember that the Lord identifies Himself with the year.

Live this todayRemembering the Lord Through TimeThis 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 11.16.27? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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