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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
11.3.1311.3.15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.3.14

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

हृतरूपं तु तमसा वायौ ज्योति: प्रलीयते ।

हृतस्पर्शोऽवकाशेन वायुर्नभसि लीयते ।

कालात्मना हृतगुणं नभ आत्मनि लीयते ॥ १४ ॥

hṛta-rūpaṁ tu tamasā

vāyau jyotiḥ pralīyate

hṛta-sparśo ’vakāśena

vāyur nabhasi līyate

kālātmanā hṛta-guṇaṁ

nabha ātmani līyate

Translation

Fire, deprived of its form by darkness, dissolves into the element air. When the air loses its quality of touch by the influence of space, the air merges into that space. When space is deprived of its tangible quality by the Supreme Soul in the form of time, space merges into false ego in the mode of ignorance.

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.

Dissolution Continues Through the Subtle Elements

  1. 1

    When darkness removes fire’s form, fire dissolves into air.

  2. 2

    When space removes air’s quality of touch, air merges into space.

  3. 3

    The Supreme Soul, acting as time, removes space’s tangible quality. Space then merges into false ego in the mode of ignorance.

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:

Impelled by the reactions of his own activities, he repeatedly takes birth in various species of life and thus suffers greatly until the time of the cosmic annihilation. 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.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. hṛta-rūpamdeprived of its quality of form
  2. tucertainly
  3. tamasāby darkness
  4. vāyauinto air
  5. jyotiḥfire
  6. pralīyatemerges
  7. hṛta-sparśaḥdeprived of touch
  8. avakāśenaby the element space
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

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 11.3

    In this verse: “false ego”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does the Supreme Soul’s action as time teach me about the dependence of material elements?

Practice

Trace the sequence “fire → air → space → false ego,” rereading what causes each transition.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDissolution Continues Through the Subtle ElementsThis 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 11.3.14? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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