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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

12.4.34 12.4.36

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.4.35

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

नित्यदा सर्वभूतानां ब्रह्मादीनां परन्तप ।

उत्पत्तिप्रलयावेके सूक्ष्मज्ञा: सम्प्रचक्षते ॥ ३५ ॥

nityadā sarva-bhūtānāṁ

brahmādīnāṁ parantapa

utpatti-pralayāv eke

sūkṣma-jñāḥ sampracakṣate

Translation

Experts in the subtle workings of nature, O subduer of the enemy, have declared that there are continuous processes of creation and annihilation that all created beings, beginning with Brahmā, constantly undergo.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Creation and Annihilation Are Continuous

1
Creation and annihilation are continuous processes, not merely isolated events.
2
All created beings constantly undergo these processes, beginning with Brahmā.
3
Experts in the subtle workings of nature recognize and declare this ongoing creation and 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

Chapter 4: The Four Categories of Universal Annihilation

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

At every moment time invisibly transforms the bodies of all created beings and all other manifestations of matter. This process of transformation causes the living entity to undergo the constant annihilation of birth and death.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 12.4

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

nityadāconstantly
sarva-bhūtānāmof all created beings
brahma-ādīnāmbeginning with Lord Brahmā
param-tapaO subduer of the enemies
utpatticreation
pralayauand annihilation
ekesome
sūkṣma-jñāḥexpert knowers of subtle things
sampracakṣatedeclare

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What changes do you notice when you look for ongoing creation and annihilation around you?

Practice

Observe one instance of something forming or breaking down today, and recall that all created beings undergo change.

Live this todayCreation and Annihilation Are ContinuousThis 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.

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