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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 9: Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi Sees the Illusory Potency of the Lord
12.9.1312.9.15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.9.14

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 12.9.7inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

तस्यैवमुद्वीक्षत ऊर्मिभीषण:

प्रभञ्जनाघूर्णितवार्महार्णव: ।

आपूर्यमाणो वरषद्भ‍िरम्बुदै:

क्ष्मामप्यधाद् द्वीपवर्षाद्रिभि: समम् ॥ १४ ॥

tasyaivam udvīkṣata ūrmi-bhīṣaṇaḥ

prabhañjanāghūrṇita-vār mahārṇavaḥ

āpūryamāṇo varaṣadbhir ambudaiḥ

kṣmām apyadhād dvīpa-varṣādribhiḥ samam

Translation

Even as Mārkaṇḍeya looked on, the rain pouring down from the clouds filled the ocean more and more until that great sea, its waters violently whipped into terrifying waves by hurricanes, covered up all the earth’s islands, mountains and continents.

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.

Even Mountains Disappear Beneath the Waters

  1. 1

    As Mārkaṇḍeya watched, pouring rain filled the ocean more and more.

  2. 2

    Hurricanes whipped the waters into terrifying waves.

  3. 3

    The great sea covered all the earth’s islands, mountains and continents.

How it feels

Terror and bewilderment → Wonder and surrender. Annihilation gives way to a tender divine vision.

Chapters 9–10 of Canto 12: Mārkaṇḍeya witnesses the deluge and divine child. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 9: Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi Sees the Illusory Potency of the Lord

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

With great difficulty Mārkaṇḍeya moved about all alone in this water for a long time, until he came upon a banyan tree. Lying upon a leaf of that tree was an infant boy glowing with a charming effulgence.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.9
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tasyawhile he
  2. evamin this way
  3. udvīkṣataḥwas looking on
  4. ūrmiwith its waves
  5. bhīṣaṇaḥfrightening
  6. prabhañjanaby hurricane winds
  7. āghūrṇitaswirled around
  8. vāḥits water
3

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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What do I regard as immovable, like the mountains in this scene?

Practice

Reread the verse slowly, noticing how even the mountains become covered.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayEven Mountains Disappear Beneath the WatersThis 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 12.9.14? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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