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Study a Verse

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

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

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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 7: The Purāṇic Literatures

12.7.1 12.7.3

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.7.2

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 12.7.1inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

शौक्लायनिर्ब्रह्मबलिर्मोदोष: पिप्पलायनि: ।

वेददर्शस्य शिष्यास्ते पथ्यशिष्यानथो श‍ृणु ।

कुमुद: शुनको ब्रह्मन् जाजलिश्चाप्यथर्ववित् ॥ २ ॥

śauklāyanir brahmabalir

modoṣaḥ pippalāyaniḥ

vedadarśasya śiṣyās te

pathya-śiṣyān atho śṛṇu

kumudaḥ śunako brahman

jājaliś cāpy atharva-vit

Translation

Śauklāyani, Brahmabali, Modoṣa and Pippalāyani were disciples of Vedadarśa. Hear from me also the names of the disciples of Pathya. My dear brāhmaṇa, they are Kumuda, Śunaka and Jājali, all of whom knew the Atharva Veda very well.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Teachers Entrust Vedic Divisions to Disciples

1
Vedadarśa’s disciples were Śauklāyani, Brahmabali, Modoṣa and Pippalāyani. He divided his edition of the Atharva Veda into four parts and taught them to these four disciples.
2
Pathya divided his edition into three parts and taught them to Kumuda, Śunaka and Jājali.
3
The translation describes Pathya’s disciples as knowing the Atharva Veda very well. Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains how the editions were divided for instruction.

Key points from the purport

According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, Vedadarśa divided his edition of the Atharva Veda into four parts and instructed them to his four disciples.
Pathya divided his edition into three parts and instructed it to the three disciples mentioned here.

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

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