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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

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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

12.11.23 12.11.25

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.11.24

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Who is speaking and story frame

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

द्विजऋषभ स एष ब्रह्मयोनि: स्वयंद‍ृक्

स्वमहिमपरिपूर्णो मायया च स्वयैतत् ।

सृजति हरति पातीत्याख्ययानावृताक्षो

विवृत इव निरुक्तस्तत्परैरात्मलभ्य: ॥ २४ ॥

dvija-ṛṣabha sa eṣa brahma-yoniḥ svayaṁ-dṛk

sva-mahima-paripūrṇo māyayā ca svayaitat

sṛjati harati pātīty ākhyayānāvṛtākṣo

vivṛta iva niruktas tat-parair ātma-labhyaḥ

Translation

O best of brāhmaṇas, He alone is the self-luminous, original source of the Vedas, perfect and complete in His own glory. By His material energy He creates, destroys and maintains this entire universe. Because He is the performer of various material functions, He is sometimes described as materially divided, yet He always remains transcendentally situated in pure knowledge. Those who are dedicated to Him in devotion can realize Him to be their true Soul.

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.

Devotion and Humility Reveal the Lord

1
The Lord is the self-luminous source of the Vedas, perfect and complete in His own glory. Though He creates, maintains, and destroys the universe through His material energy, He remains situated in pure knowledge and is realized through devotion.
2
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura recommends meditating on the earth as an expansion of the Lord’s lotus feet. All moving and nonmoving living beings sheltered on earth are thus sheltered at His feet.
3
All living entities constitute the Kaustubha gem on the Lord’s chest. We should therefore respect every living being and never envy or deride anyone.

Key points from the purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura recommends that we become humble by practicing the following meditation: “The earth, which is always visible to me, is the expansion of the lotus feet of my Lord, who is always to be meditated upon.
All moving and nonmoving living beings have taken shelter of the earth and are thus sheltered at the lotus feet of my Lord.
Therefore I should never envy or deride any living entity.”

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:

When Śaunaka shows further interest in learning about the expansion of Lord Hari in the form of the sun-god, Sūta replies that Lord Śrī Hari — the indwelling controller of the universe and its original creator — manifests Himself in the form of the demigod of the sun. Sages describe this sun-god in many features according to his different material designations.

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

dvija-ṛṣabhaO best of the brāhmaṇas
saḥ eṣaḥHe alone
brahma-yoniḥthe source of the Vedas
svayam-dṛkwho is self-illuminating
sva-mahimain His own glory
paripūrṇaḥperfectly complete
māyayāby the material energy
caand

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 12.11
In this verse: “devotion”
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 12.11
In this verse: “knowledge”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 12.11
In this verse: “material”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Whom might I respect more deeply by remembering their shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet?

Practice

When you next feel tempted to belittle someone, pause and remember that this living being is sheltered at the Lord’s lotus feet.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotion and Humility Reveal 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.

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