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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 11: Summary Description of the Mahāpuruṣa

12.11.22 12.11.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.11.23

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 12.11.4inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

अङ्गोपाङ्गायुधाकल्पैर्भगवांस्तच्चतुष्टयम् ।

बिभर्ति स्म चतुर्मूर्तिर्भगवान् हरिरीश्वर: ॥ २३ ॥

aṅgopāṅgāyudhākalpair

bhagavāṁs tac catuṣṭayam

bibharti sma catur-mūrtir

bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Hari, thus appears in four personal expansions, each exhibiting major limbs, minor limbs, weapons and ornaments. Through these distinct features, the Lord maintains the four phases of existence.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Features Are Purely Transcendental

1
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Hari, appears in four personal expansions, each with major limbs, minor limbs, weapons, and ornaments.
2
Through these distinct features, the Lord maintains the four phases of existence.
3
The Lord’s spiritual body, weapons, ornaments, and associates are all pure transcendental existence, identical with Him.

Key points from the purport

The Lord’s spiritual body, weapons, ornaments and associates are all pure transcendental existence, identical with Him.

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

Wonder → Benediction and peace. The work closes by exalting hearing and remembering the Lord.

Chapters 11–13 of Canto 12: The Mahāpuruṣa and the glories of Bhāgavatam. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 11: Summary Description of the Mahāpuruṣa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Śrī Sūta first tells Śaunaka Ṛṣi about the material objects through which one can understand the major limbs, the secondary limbs, the weapons and the garments of Lord Śrī Hari. Then he outlines the process of practical service by which a mortal soul can attain immortality.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 12.11