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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 ›
Canto 12 · Chapter 4: The Four Categories of Universal Annihilation
12.3.5212.4.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.4.1

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 12.4.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीशुक उवाच

कालस्ते परमाण्वादिर्द्विपरार्धावधिर्नृप ।

कथितो युगमानं च श‍ृणु कल्पलयावपि ॥ १ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca

kālas te paramāṇv-ādir

dvi-parārdhāvadhir nṛpa

kathito yuga-mānaṁ ca

śṛṇu kalpa-layāv api

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, I have already described to you the measurements of time, beginning from the smallest fraction measured by the movement of a single atom up to the total life span of Lord Brahmā. I have also discussed the measurement of the different millennia of universal history. Now hear about the time of Brahmā’s day and the process of annihilation.

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.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hear About Time and Annihilation

  1. 1

    Śukadeva Gosvāmī has described time from the smallest fraction measured by an atom’s movement to the total life span of Lord Brahmā.

  2. 2

    He has also discussed the measurement of the different millennia of universal history.

  3. 3

    He now invites the King to hear about Brahmā’s day and the process of annihilation.

How it feels

Civilizational dread → Dispassion. Social and cosmic impermanence expose the limits of worldly plans.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 12: The deterioration of Kali and universal dissolution. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 4: The Four Categories of Universal Annihilation

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When Brahmā’s life span of one hundred years is finished, there occurs the prākṛtika, or total material, annihilation. At that time the seven elements of material nature, beginning with the mahat, and the entire universal egg composed of them are destroyed.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-śukaḥ uvācaŚrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
  2. kālaḥtime
  3. teto you
  4. parama-aṇu(the smallest fraction of time measured in terms of) the indivisible atom
  5. ādiḥbeginning with
  6. dvi-para-ardhathe two halves of Brahmā’s total life span
  7. avadhiḥculminating in
  8. nṛpaO King Parīkṣit
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 12.4

    In this verse: “king”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can attentive hearing help you approach a subject as vast as universal time?

Practice

Read this translation slowly, noticing the invitation to hear.

Live this todayHear About Time and AnnihilationThis 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 12.4.1? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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