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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 3: Liberation from the Illusory Energy
11.3.1111.3.13

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.3.12

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śrī Antarīkṣasince 11.3.3inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → VasudevaThe nine Yogendras → King Nimi

ततो विराजमुत्सृज्य वैराज: पुरुषो नृप ।

अव्यक्तं विशते सूक्ष्मं निरिन्धन इवानल: ॥ १२ ॥

tato virājam utsṛjya

vairājaḥ puruṣo nṛpa

avyaktaṁ viśate sūkṣmaṁ

nirindhana ivānalaḥ

Translation

Then Vairāja Brahmā, the soul of the universal form, gives up his universal body, O King, and enters into the subtle unmanifest nature, like a fire that has run out of fuel.

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.

Surrender, Not Status, Leads to Perfection

  1. 1

    Vairāja Brahmā gives up his universal body like a fire that has run out of fuel. The Lord’s universal form is a temporary aid to meditation, not His eternal form of bliss and knowledge.

  2. 2

    Even the position of Brahmā cannot guarantee entrance into the Lord’s personal abode. Brahmā’s destination depends on whether he pursues material work, speculative knowledge or devotion.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, promises to protect those who surrender to His devotional service and bring them to His supreme abode. Even Brahmā’s strenuous work is ultimately useless without surrender to Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has quoted the following verse as evidence that Lord Brahmā is supposed to go back to Godhead at the time of annihilation:
  • Since Brahmā is sometimes considered the best devotee of the Supreme Lord, he surely should obtain liberation rather than merely entering into the unmanifest state of material nature called avyakta.
  • If even Lord Brahmā cannot enter the kingdom of God without surrendering to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then what to speak of other so-called pious or expert nondevotees.

The purport'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

The purport of SB 11.3.12 quotesSB 3.32.12-15

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.32.15) yet another case is described: a Brahmā who is a devotee of the Lord but who has the tendency to think himself independent of or equal to the Lord may achieve Mahā-Viṣṇu’s abode at the time of annihilation, but when creation begins again he has to return and again take the post of Brahmā.

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

Foreboding → Devotional urgency. Uddhava realizes that Kṛṣṇa's visible association is nearing an end.

Chapters 1–6 of Canto 11: The Yadu curse, the nine Yogendras and farewell signs. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 3: Liberation from the Illusory Energy

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When the annihilation is imminent, the soul of the universal form withdraws the entire material creation within Himself, and then He Himself enters into the original cause of all causes. In this way the Lord empowers His illusory potency, consisting of the three modes of material nature, for the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material universe.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tataḥthen
  2. virājamthe universe
  3. utsṛjyagiving up (as his body)
  4. vairājaḥ puruṣaḥthe personality of the universal form (Hiraṇyagarbha Brahmā)
  5. nṛpaO King Nimi
  6. avyaktamunmanifest nature (the pradhāna)
  7. viśatehe enters
  8. sūkṣmamsubtle
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 11.3

    In this verse: “king”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 11.3

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 11.3

    In this verse: “knowledge”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I relying more on my accomplishments or on surrender to Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer to Kṛṣṇa asking to serve Him rather than depend only on your own effort.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 3.32.15

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 11.3's connections

Live this todaySurrender, Not Status, Leads to PerfectionThis 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 11.3.12? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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