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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
12.4.20-2112.4.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.4.22

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

लय: प्राकृतिको ह्येष पुरुषाव्यक्तयोर्यदा ।

शक्तय: सम्प्रलीयन्ते विवशा: कालविद्रुता: ॥ २२ ॥

layaḥ prākṛtiko hy eṣa

puruṣāvyaktayor yadā

śaktayaḥ sampralīyante

vivaśāḥ kāla-vidrutāḥ

Translation

This is the annihilation called prākṛtika, during which the energies belonging to the Supreme Person and His unmanifest material nature, disassembled by the force of time, are deprived of their potencies and merge together totally.

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.

Time Dissolves the Material Energies

  1. 1

    This dissolution is called prākṛtika annihilation.

  2. 2

    The energies belong to the Supreme Person and His unmanifest material nature. They are disassembled by the force of time.

  3. 3

    Deprived of their potencies, these energies merge together totally.

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:

At that time the seven elements of material nature, beginning with the mahat, and the entire universal egg composed of them are destroyed. When a person achieves knowledge of the Absolute, he understands factual reality.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. layaḥthe annihilation
  2. prākṛtikaḥof the material elements
  3. hiindeed
  4. eṣaḥthis
  5. puruṣaof the Supreme Lord
  6. avyaktayoḥand of His material nature in its unmanifest form
  7. yadāwhen
  8. śaktayaḥthe energies
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 12.4

    In this verse: “material”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does remembering that these energies belong to the Supreme Person change my view of material nature?

Practice

Take a quiet moment to acknowledge that material energies belong to the Supreme Person, rather than existing independently.

Live this todayTime Dissolves the Material EnergiesThis 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 12.4.22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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