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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
  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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 12.11.6-8

Who is speaking and story frame

एतद् वै पौरुषं रूपं भू: पादौ द्यौ: शिरो नभ: ।

नाभि: सूर्योऽक्षिणी नासे वायु: कर्णौ दिश: प्रभो: ॥ ६ ॥

प्रजापति: प्रजननमपानो मृत्युरीशितु: ।

तद्बाहवो लोकपाला मनश्चन्द्रो भ्रुवौ यम: ॥ ७ ॥

लज्जोत्तरोऽधरो लोभो दन्ता ज्योत्स्‍ना स्मयो भ्रम: ।

रोमाणि भूरुहा भूम्नो मेघा: पुरुषमूर्धजा: ॥ ८ ॥

etad vai pauruṣaṁ rūpaṁ

bhūḥ pādau dyauḥ śiro nabhaḥ

nābhiḥ sūryo ’kṣiṇī nāse

vāyuḥ karṇau diśaḥ prabhoḥ

prajāpatiḥ prajananam

apāno mṛtyur īśituḥ

tad-bāhavo loka-pālā

manaś candro bhruvau yamaḥ

lajjottaro ’dharo lobho

dantā jyotsnā smayo bhramaḥ

romāṇi bhūruhā bhūmno

meghāḥ puruṣa-mūrdhajāḥ

Translation

This is the representation of the Supreme Lord as the universal person, in which the earth is His feet, the sky His navel, the sun His eyes, the wind His nostrils, the demigod of procreation His genitals, death His anus and the moon His mind. The heavenly planets are His head, the directions His ears, and the demigods protecting the various planets His many arms. The god of death is His eyebrows, shame His lower lip, greed His upper lip, delusion His smile, and moonshine His teeth, while the trees are the almighty Puruṣa’s bodily hairs, and the clouds the hair on His head.

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.

Meditate on Creation as the Lord’s Body

  1. 1

    The earth is represented as the Lord’s feet, the sun as His eyes and the moon as His mind.

  2. 2

    The trees are His bodily hairs, and the clouds are the hair on His head. Various aspects of creation are sustained by limbs of His universal body.

  3. 3

    Because they are sustained in this way, these aspects of creation are considered nondifferent from Him. This description is meant for meditation.

Key points from the purport
  • Various aspects of material creation, such as the earth, the sun and the trees, are sustained by various limbs of the universal body of the Lord.
  • Thus they are considered nondifferent from Him, as described in this verse, which is meant for meditation.

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

Further reading

Chapter 11: Summary Description of the Mahāpuruṣa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

In the context of worship, this chapter describes the Mahāpuruṣa and the various expansions of the sun in each month. 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.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.11
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. etatthis
  2. vaiindeed
  3. pauruṣamof the Virāṭ-puruṣa
  4. rūpamthe form
  5. bhūḥthe earth
  6. pādauHis feet
  7. dyauḥheaven
  8. śiraḥHis head
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sthāna · Planetary systems

    How is the universe arranged, and what is our right place in it? · Subject 3 of 10

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 12.11

    In this verse: “death”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 12.11

    In this verse: “protecting”

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 the Lord’s sustaining presence change the way I look at nature?

Practice

Look at a tree today and briefly meditate on its representation as a bodily hair of the almighty Puruṣa.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMeditate on Creation as the Lord’s BodyThis 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 12.11.6-8? Get an answer from the verses themselves.