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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
11.3.3411.3.36

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.3.35

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śrī Pippalāyanasince 11.3.35inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → VasudevaThe nine Yogendras → King Nimi

श्रीपिप्पलायन उवाच

स्थित्युद्भ‍वप्रलयहेतुरहेतुरस्य

यत् स्वप्नजागरसुषुप्तिषु सद् बहिश्च ।

देहेन्द्रियासुहृदयानि चरन्ति येन

सञ्जीवितानि तदवेहि परं नरेन्द्र ॥ ३५ ॥

śrī-pippalāyana uvāca

sthity-udbhava-pralaya-hetur ahetur asya

yat svapna-jāgara-suṣuptiṣu sad bahiś ca

dehendriyāsu-hṛdayāni caranti yena

sañjīvitāni tad avehi paraṁ narendra

Translation

Śrī Pippalāyana said: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of this universe, yet He has no prior cause. He pervades the various states of wakefulness, dreaming and unconscious deep sleep and also exists beyond them. By entering the body of every living being as the Supersoul, He enlivens the body, senses, life airs and mental activities, and thus all the subtle and gross organs of the body begin their functions. My dear King, know that Personality of Godhead to be the Supreme.

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.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Cause of All Causes

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead causes the universe’s creation, maintenance and destruction, yet He has no prior cause. His original form is Kṛṣṇa, who enjoys blissful pastimes in His own transcendental abode.

  2. 2

    The Lord exists within waking, dreaming and deep sleep, and also beyond them. As the Supersoul, He enlivens each living being’s body, senses, life airs and mind.

  3. 3

    The material world accommodates conditioned souls who desire sense gratification in forgetfulness of the Lord. Kṛṣṇa desires that they give up māyā, surrender to Him and return to His eternal kingdom.

Key points from the purport
  • The Supreme Lord is the cause of all causes, and being the eternal Absolute Truth, He has no cause of Himself.
  • But how the Lord functions as the supreme cause of the material manifestation (sthity-udbhava-pralaya-hetuḥ) is described in the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā.
  • When one transcends an official understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and comes to the superior status of love of God, one can understand the Lord to be Kṛṣṇa, the cause of all causes.

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· 2

The purport of SB 11.3.35 quotesSB 1.3.1

As described in the Bhāgavatam (1.3.1): “In the beginning of the creation, the Lord first expanded Himself in the universal form of the puruṣa incarnation and manifested all the ingredients for the material creation.

The purport of SB 11.3.35 quotesBG 7.5

In Bhagavad-gītā (7.5) the Lord says: The conditioned living entities (jīva-bhūta) desire to engage in sense gratification with their material senses (manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati).

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:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe, yet He has no prior cause. Situated within the temporary and constantly changing material world, the Supreme Lord remains eternal and unchanging.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-pippalāyanaḥ uvācaŚrī Pippalāyana said
  2. sthitiof maintenance
  3. udbhavaof the creation
  4. pralayaand destruction
  5. hetuḥthe cause
  6. ahetuḥitself without cause
  7. asyaof this material universe
  8. yatwhich
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 11.3

    In this verse: “māyā”, “sense gratification”, “material”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 11.3

    In this verse: “king”, “kingdom”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 11.3

    In this verse: “give up”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might remembering my dependence on the Supersoul change the way I use my senses today?

Practice

Before one activity today, pause to remember that the Lord enables your body and mind to function, and offer to use them in His service.

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.

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

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the Cause of All CausesThis 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 11.3.35? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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