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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
12.4.1012.4.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.4.11

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

तत: प्रचण्डपवनो वर्षाणामधिकं शतम् ।

पर: सांवर्तको वाति धूम्रं खं रजसावृतम् ॥ ११ ॥

tataḥ pracaṇḍa-pavano

varṣāṇām adhikaṁ śatam

paraḥ sāṁvartako vāti

dhūmraṁ khaṁ rajasāvṛtam

Translation

A great and terrible wind of destruction will begin to blow for more than one hundred years, and the sky, covered with dust, will turn gray.

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.

Destructive Wind Covers the Sky

  1. 1

    A great and terrible wind will blow during universal destruction.

  2. 2

    This destructive wind will continue for more than one hundred years.

  3. 3

    Dust will cover the sky, turning it gray.

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. tataḥthen
  2. pracaṇḍaterrible
  3. pavanaḥa wind
  4. varṣāṇāmof years
  5. adhikammore than
  6. śatamone hundred
  7. paraḥgreat
  8. sāmvartakaḥcausing annihilation
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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this description challenge my sense that my surroundings are permanent?

Practice

Look at the sky today and briefly reflect that even its familiar appearance can change.

Live this todayDestructive Wind Covers the SkyThis 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 12.4.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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