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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
11.3.711.3.9

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.3.8

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

धातूपप्लव आसन्ने व्यक्तं द्रव्यगुणात्मकम् ।

अनादिनिधन: कालो ह्यव्यक्तायापकर्षति ॥ ८ ॥

dhātūpaplava āsanne

vyaktaṁ dravya-guṇātmakam

anādi-nidhanaḥ kālo

hy avyaktāyāpakarṣati

Translation

When the annihilation of the material elements is imminent, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form of eternal time withdraws the manifest cosmos, consisting of gross and subtle features, and the entire universe vanishes into nonmanifestation.

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.

Beyond Creation and Destruction

  1. 1

    Material nature originally rests in an inert state of equilibrium called pradhāna. Lord Viṣṇu’s glance, in the form of time, sets material interactions in motion.

  2. 2

    At annihilation, the same time potency withdraws the gross and subtle cosmos into nonmanifestation. The time potency itself then merges into the Supreme Soul.

  3. 3

    These cycles of creation and destruction do not exist in God’s eternal spiritual kingdom. There, the spiritual enjoyment of the Lord and His devotees is not interrupted by birth and death.

Key points from the purport
  • In the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Lord Kapiladeva teaches that the material nature originally exists in an inert state of equilibrium called pradhāna.
  • When Lord Viṣṇu casts His potent glance in the form of kāla, or time, material interactions take place, culminating in the variegated creation of the material cosmos.
  • In this verse it is stated that at the end of universal time the same kāla that originally incited the female nature into manifestation again withdraws the cosmos into its original state of inert nonmanifestation.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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. dhātuof the material elements
  2. upaplavethe dissolution
  3. āsannewhen it has become imminent
  4. vyaktamthe manifest cosmos
  5. dravyagross objects
  6. guṇaand the subtle modes
  7. ātmakamconsisting of
  8. anādiwithout beginning
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotees”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 11.3

    In this verse: “death”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What draws me toward the Lord’s spiritual kingdom rather than temporary material arrangements?

Practice

Spend one minute reflecting on the uninterrupted spiritual enjoyment of the Lord and His devotees.

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 todayBeyond Creation and DestructionThis 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 11.3.8? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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