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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 4: Drumila Explains the Incarnations of Godhead to King Nimi
11.4.311.4.5

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.4.4

Sarga· Creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śrī Drumilasince 11.4.2inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → VasudevaThe nine Yogendras → King Nimi

यत्काय एष भुवनत्रयसन्निवेशो

यस्येन्द्रियैस्तनुभृतामुभयेन्द्रियाणि ।

ज्ञानं स्वत: श्वसनतो बलमोज ईहा

सत्त्वादिभि: स्थितिलयोद्भ‍व आदिकर्ता ॥ ४ ॥

yat-kāya eṣa bhuvana-traya-sanniveśo

yasyendriyais tanu-bhṛtām ubhayendriyāṇi

jñānaṁ svataḥ śvasanato balam oja īhā

sattvādibhiḥ sthiti-layodbhava ādi-kartā

Translation

Within His body are elaborately arranged the three planetary systems of this universe. His transcendental senses generate the knowledge-acquiring and active senses of all embodied beings. His consciousness generates conditioned knowledge, and His powerful breathing produces the bodily strength, sensory power and conditioned activities of the embodied souls. He is the prime mover, through the agency of the material modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. And thus the universe is created, maintained and annihilated.

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.

Our Abilities Depend on the Lord

  1. 1

    Without the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s mercy, we can neither work nor cultivate knowledge. Our bodily strength, senses and abilities all depend on Him.

  2. 2

    Material knowledge and activities can suddenly fail, but the Lord wants us to surrender and regain eternal bliss and knowledge at His side. We should humbly follow His direction rather than rely on speculation.

  3. 3

    Through chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, one can find the Supreme Lord within the heart. Bhakti-yoga reveals our position as His eternal servants in a personal loving relationship.

Key points from the purport
  • Thus we should understand that independent of the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead we can neither work nor cultivate knowledge.
  • By the mercy of the Personality of Godhead the conditioned soul acquires a material body, which is a perverted reflection of the unlimited spiritual body of the Lord.
  • The Personality of Godhead actually wants the conditioned soul to surrender to Him and regain an eternal life of bliss and knowledge at the Lord’s side.

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 4: Drumila Explains the Incarnations of Godhead to King Nimi

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

He effects the work of creation in the mode of passion through the personal form of Brahmā, of protection in the mode of goodness through the form of the Lord of sacrifice, Viṣṇu, and of annihilation in the mode of ignorance through the form of Rudra. Incarnating in the form of Nara-Nārāyaṇa, the greatest of sages, from the womb of Mūrti, the daughter of Dakṣa and wife of Dharma, He preached by His own practical demonstration the science of naiṣkarmyam.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yat-kāyewithin whose body
  2. eṣaḥthis
  3. bhuvana-trayaof the three planetary systems making up the universe
  4. sanniveśaḥthe elaborate arrangement
  5. yasyaof whom
  6. indriyaiḥby the senses
  7. tanu-bhṛtāmof the embodied living beings
  8. ubhaya-indriyāṇiboth kinds of senses (knowledge-acquiring and active)
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sarga · The creation of the universe

    Where does the universe come from? · Subject 1 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 11.4

    In this verse: “knowledge-acquiring”, “knowledge”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 11.4

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 11.4

    In this verse: “bhakti-yoga”

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 my dependence on the Lord change the way I use my abilities?

Practice

Chant attentively once: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayOur Abilities Depend on the LordThis 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 11.4.4? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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