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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 6: Mahārāja Parīkṣit Passes Away

12.6.38 12.6.40-41

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.6.39

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 12.6.37inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

ततोऽभूत्‍त्रिवृदोंकारो योऽव्यक्तप्रभव: स्वराट् ।

यत्तल्ल‍िङ्गं भगवतो ब्रह्मण: परमात्मन: ॥ ३९ ॥

tato ’bhūt tri-vṛd oṁkāro

yo ’vyakta-prabhavaḥ sva-rāṭ

yat tal liṅgaṁ bhagavato

brahmaṇaḥ paramātmanaḥ

Translation

From that transcendental subtle vibration arose the oṁkāra composed of three sounds. The oṁkāra has unseen potencies and manifests automatically within a purified heart. It is the representation of the Absolute Truth in all three of His phases — the Supreme Personality, the Supreme Soul and the supreme impersonal truth.

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.

Oṁkāra Represents the Absolute Truth

1
Oṁkāra, composed of three sounds, arose from the transcendental subtle vibration.
2
It has unseen potencies and manifests automatically within a purified heart.
3
It represents the Absolute Truth in all three phases: the Supreme Personality, the Supreme Soul and the supreme impersonal truth.

How it feels

Approaching death → Demonstrated fearlessness. Parīkṣit is already a great devotee; his final hearing exemplifies fearlessness for the audience.

Chapters 5–6 of Canto 12: Śukadeva's final instruction and Parīkṣit's passing. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 6: Mahārāja Parīkṣit Passes Away

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

From the heart of the topmost demigod, Brahmā, came the subtle transcendental vibration, and from this subtle sound vibration arose the syllable om, greatly potent and self-luminous. Using this oṁkāra, Lord Brahmā created the original Vedas and taught them to his sons, Marīci and others, who were all saintly leaders of the brāhmaṇa community.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 12.6

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

tataḥfrom that
abhūtcame into being
tri-vṛtthreefold
oṁkāraḥthe syllable om
yaḥwhich
avyaktanot apparent
prabhavaḥits influence
sva-rāṭself-manifesting

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
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 12.6
In this verse: “absolute truth”
Śuddhi · Inner transformation
The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 12.6
In this verse: “purified”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this description broaden my understanding of oṁkāra beyond an ordinary sound?

Practice

Reread the three phases of the Absolute Truth and reflect for a moment on oṁkāra as their representation.

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayOṁkāra Represents the Absolute TruthThis 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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