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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
12.4.2612.4.28

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.4.27

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 12.4.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

सत्यं ह्यवयव: प्रोक्त: सर्वावयविनामिह ।

विनार्थेन प्रतीयेरन् पटस्येवाङ्ग तन्तव: ॥ २७ ॥

satyaṁ hy avayavaḥ proktaḥ

sarvāvayavinām iha

vinārthena pratīyeran

paṭasyevāṅga tantavaḥ

Translation

My dear King, it is stated [in the Vedānta-sūtra] that the ingredient cause that constitutes any manifested product in this universe can be perceived as a separate reality, just as the threads that make up a cloth can be perceived separately from their product.

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.

Recognizing the Ingredients Behind a Product

  1. 1

    A manifested product has an ingredient cause that constitutes it.

  2. 2

    The ingredient cause can be perceived separately from the product, as the Vedānta-sūtra explains.

  3. 3

    Threads illustrate this teaching: they can be perceived separately from the cloth they make up.

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:

He perceives the entire created universe as separate from the Absolute and therefore unreal. That is called the ātyantika, or final, annihilation (liberation).
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. satyamreal
  2. hibecause
  3. avayavaḥthe ingredient cause
  4. proktaḥis said to be
  5. sarva-avayavināmof all constituted entities
  6. ihain this created world
  7. vināapart from
  8. arthenatheir manifest product
3

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

  • 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

What does looking at the threads rather than only the cloth help you notice?

Practice

Examine a piece of cloth and identify the threads that constitute it.

Live this todayRecognizing the Ingredients Behind a ProductThis 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 12.4.27? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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