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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 16: The Lord’s Opulence
11.16.3511.16.37

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.16.36

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

गत्युक्त्युत्सर्गोपादानमानन्दस्पर्शलक्षणम् ।

आस्वादश्रुत्यवघ्राणमहं सर्वेन्द्रियेन्द्रियम् ॥ ३६ ॥

gaty-ukty-utsargopādānam

ānanda-sparśa-lakṣanam

āsvāda-śruty-avaghrāṇam

ahaṁ sarvendriyendriyam

Translation

I am the functions of the five working senses — the legs, speech, anus, hands and sex organs — as well as those of the five knowledge-acquiring senses — touch, sight, taste, hearing and smell. I am also the potency by which each of the senses experiences its particular sense object.

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.

The Lord Empowers the Senses

  1. 1

    The Lord is the functions of the five working senses: the legs, speech, anus, hands and sex organs.

  2. 2

    He is also the functions of the five knowledge-acquiring senses: touch, sight, taste, hearing and smell.

  3. 3

    He is the potency by which each sense experiences its particular sense object.

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:

Such conceptions are the results of mentally combining two ideas to produce an object that exists only in the imagination, such as a sky flower. Material opulences are not substantially true, and therefore one should not become too involved in meditating upon them.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. gatimovement of the legs (walking, running, etc.)
  2. uktispeech
  3. utsargaevacuation
  4. upādānamaccepting with the hands
  5. ānandathe material pleasure of the sex organs
  6. sparśatouch
  7. lakṣaṇamsight
  8. āsvādataste
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 11.16

    In this verse: “knowledge-acquiring”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 11.16

    In this verse: “hearing”

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 might remembering the Lord’s potency change the way I use my senses?

Practice

Read this verse aloud today, remembering the Lord’s potency in your speech and hearing.

Live this todayThe Lord Empowers the SensesThis 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 11.16.36? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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