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Study a Verse

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

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Canto 12 · The Age of Deterioration · 13 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

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How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.

Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Canto 12 · Chapter 10: Lord Śiva and Umā Glorify Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi

12.10.4 12.10.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.10.5

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Goddess Umā, seeing the sagesince 12.10.4inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

निभृतोदझषव्रातो वातापाये यथार्णव: ।

कुर्वस्य तपस: साक्षात् संसिद्धिं सिद्धिदो भवान् ॥ ५ ॥

nibhṛtoda-jhaṣa-vrāto

vātāpāye yathārṇavaḥ

kurv asya tapasaḥ sākṣāt

saṁsiddhiṁ siddhi-do bhavān

Translation

He is as calm as the waters of the ocean when the wind has ceased and the fish remain still. Therefore, my lord, since you bestow perfection on the performers of austerity, please award this sage the perfection that is obviously due him.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Deep Calm and Perfection in Austerity

1
The sage’s calm is compared to an ocean whose waters and fish are still after the wind has ceased.
2
The speaker addresses her lord as one who bestows perfection on performers of austerity.
3
She asks him to award the sage the perfection that is evidently due him.

How it feels

Terror and bewilderment → Wonder and surrender. Annihilation gives way to a tender divine vision.

Chapters 9–10 of Canto 12: Mārkaṇḍeya witnesses the deluge and divine child. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 10: Lord Śiva and Umā Glorify Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

At the request of Pārvatī, Lord Śiva presented himself before the sage to grant him the result of his austerities. Coming out of his trance, Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya saw Lord Śiva, the spiritual master of the three worlds, together with Pārvatī, and he worshiped them by offering them obeisances, words of greeting and a sitting place.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 12.10