1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 12 · The Age of Deterioration · 13 chapters

12345678910111213

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 7: The Purāṇic Literatures
12.7.1112.7.13

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.7.12

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 12.7.1inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

पुरुषानुगृहीतानामेतेषां वासनामय: ।

विसर्गोऽयं समाहारो बीजाद् बीजं चराचरम् ॥ १२ ॥

puruṣānugṛhītānām

eteṣāṁ vāsanā-mayaḥ

visargo ’yaṁ samāhāro

bījād bījaṁ carācaram

Translation

The secondary creation, which exists by the mercy of the Lord, is the manifest amalgamation of the desires of the living entities. Just as a seed produces additional seeds, activities that promote material desires in the performer produce moving and nonmoving life forms.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

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.

Material Desires Produce Further Desires

  1. 1

    Secondary creation exists by the Lord’s mercy and manifests the combined desires of living entities.

  2. 2

    Just as a seed produces a tree with thousands of seeds, material desire develops into fruitive activity that stimulates thousands of new desires.

  3. 3

    By the mercy of the Supreme Lord, living beings are allowed to desire and act in this world.

Key points from the purport
  • Just as a seed grows into a tree that produces thousands of new seeds, material desire develops into fruitive activity that stimulates thousands of new desires within the heart of the conditioned soul.
  • The word puruṣānugṛhītānām indicates that by the mercy of the Supreme Lord one is allowed to desire and act in this world.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Inquiry → Reverence. The transmission of sacred knowledge continues beyond the king's life.

Chapters 7–8 of Canto 12: The Vedic corpus and Mārkaṇḍeya's devotion. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 7: The Purāṇic Literatures

Summary of this chapter:

In this chapter Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī describes the expansion of the branches of the Atharva Veda, enumerates the compilers of the Purāṇas and explains the characteristics of a Purāṇa. He then lists the eighteen major Purāṇas and finishes his account by stating that any person who hears about these matters from someone in a proper disciplic succession will acquire spiritual potency.
Back to this verse in chapter 12.7
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. puruṣaof the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His pastime role of creation
  2. anugṛhītānāmwhich have received the mercy
  3. eteṣāmof these elements
  4. vāsanā-mayaḥconsisting predominantly of the remnants of past desires of the living entities
  5. visargaḥthe secondary creation
  6. ayamthis
  7. samāhāraḥmanifest amalgamation
  8. bījātfrom a seed
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Visarga · Subcreation

    How do living beings and their worlds appear? · Subject 2 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 12.7

    In this verse: “material”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 12.7

    In this verse: “mercy”

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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which of my activities seems to generate more material desires?

Practice

Notice one material desire today and write down what further desires acting on it might produce.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMaterial Desires Produce Further DesiresThis 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 12.7.12? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories