1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 11 · General History · 31 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 9: Detachment from All that Is Material
11.9.1511.9.17-18

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.9.16

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The saintly brāhmaṇasince 11.9.1inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → UddhavaThe avadhūta → King Yadu

एको नारायणो देव: पूर्वसृष्टं स्वमायया ।

संहृत्य कालकलया कल्पान्त इदमीश्वर: ।

एक एवाद्वितीयोऽभूदात्माधारोऽखिलाश्रय: ॥ १६ ॥

eko nārāyaṇo devaḥ

pūrva-sṛṣṭaṁ sva-māyayā

saṁhṛtya kāla-kalayā

kalpānta idam īśvaraḥ

eka evādvitīyo ’bhūd

ātmādhāro ’khilāśrayaḥ

Translation

The Lord of the universe, Nārāyaṇa, is the worshipable God of all living entities. Without extraneous assistance, the Lord creates this universe by His own potency, and at the time of annihilation the Lord destroys the universe through His personal expansion of time and withdraws all of the cosmos, including all the conditioned living entities, within Himself. Thus, His unlimited Self is the shelter and reservoir of all potencies. The subtle pradhāna, the basis of all cosmic manifestation, is conserved within the Lord and is in this way not different from Him. In the aftermath of annihilation the Lord stands alone.

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.

The Lord Is the Shelter of Everything

  1. 1

    Nārāyaṇa creates the universe through His own potency without outside help. At annihilation, He withdraws the cosmos and the conditioned living entities within Himself.

  2. 2

    There is only one Supreme Personality of Godhead. All universal affairs and spiritual pastimes are conducted by His potency alone.

  3. 3

    Mahā-Viṣṇu is a plenary portion of Kṛṣṇa, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. The material and spiritual worlds arise through potencies emanating from the Lord's body, making Him the shelter and supreme controller of everything.

Key points from the purport
  • As will be explained in verse 21 of this chapter, the Lord’s independent creation and annihilation of the universe can be compared to the spider’s creating and withdrawing his web.
  • Ātmādhāra indicates that the Lord’s personal body is the shelter of everything.
  • Mahā-Viṣṇu is a plenary portion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, from whose body expand the innumerable potencies that manifest the material and spiritual worlds.

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

Grief and dependence → Detachment. The temporary world becomes a source of spiritual instruction.

Chapters 7–9 of Canto 11: The avadhuta's twenty-four teachers. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 9: Detachment from All that Is Material

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The instruction obtained from the spider, who spins his web from his mouth and then withdraws it, is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead similarly creates from out of Himself the whole universe and then winds it up into Himself.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.9
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ekaḥalone
  2. nārāyaṇaḥthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  3. devaḥGod
  4. pūrvapreviously
  5. sṛṣṭamcreated
  6. sva-māyayāby His own potency
  7. saṁhṛtyawithdrawing within Himself
  8. kālaof time
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 11.9

    In this verse: “worshipable”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 11.9

    In this verse: “shelter”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 11.9

    In this verse: “material”

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 does knowing that everything rests in the Lord affect my sense of dependence on Him?

Practice

Pause today to offer a brief expression of worship to the Lord as the shelter of all existence.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Is the Shelter of EverythingThis 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 11.9.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories