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

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Canto 2 · The Cosmic Manifestation · 10 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 2 · Chapter 1: The First Step in God Realization
2.1.312.1.33

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.1.32

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 2.1.23inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

व्रीडोत्तरौष्ठोऽधर एव लोभो

धर्म: स्तनोऽधर्मपथोऽस्य पृष्ठम् ।

कस्तस्य मेढ्रं वृषणौ च मित्रौ

कुक्षि: समुद्रा गिरयोऽस्थिसङ्घा: ॥ ३२ ॥

vrīḍottarauṣṭho ’dhara eva lobho

dharmaḥ stano ’dharma-patho ’sya pṛṣṭham

kas tasya meḍhraṁ vṛṣaṇau ca mitrau

kukṣiḥ samudrā girayo ’sthi-saṅghāḥ

Translation

Modesty is the upper portion of His lips, hankering is His chin, religion is the breast of the Lord, and irreligion is His back. Brahmājī, who generates all living beings in the material world, is His genitals, and the Mitrā-varuṇas are His two testicles. The ocean is His waist, and the hills and mountains are the stacks of His bones.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Supreme Lord Is a Complete Person

  1. 1

    The Supreme Lord is not impersonal; He is the Supreme Person. His personality, however, differs from what our imperfect thinking can conceive.

  2. 2

    The Lord is complete with all bodily organs, but these have different forms and potencies from ours. Descriptions of Him as impersonal deny a personality limited by our speculation, not His personal existence.

  3. 3

    One can worship the Lord by seeing hills, mountains, oceans and sky as parts of His gigantic body. The virāṭ-rūpa shown by Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna challenges disbelief.

Key points from the purport
  • The Supreme Lord is not impersonal, as misconceived by less intelligent thinkers.
  • When the Lord is described as impersonal, therefore, it should be understood that His personality is not exactly the type of personality found within our imperfect speculation.
  • One can, however, worship the Lord even by seeing the hills and mountains or the ocean and the sky as different parts and parcels of the gigantic body of the Lord, the virāṭ-puruṣa.

Śrīla Prabhupāda'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

Death anxiety → Steady attention. The answer to mortality begins with spiritual focus.

Chapters 1–3 of Canto 2: The practice of hearing, remembering and devotion. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 1: The First Step in God Realization

Śukadeva describes the value of conscious living, self-control, and meditation on the Lord’s universal form.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.1
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. vrīḍamodesty
  2. uttaraupper
  3. oṣṭhalip
  4. adharaḥchin
  5. evacertainly
  6. lobhaḥhankering
  7. dharmaḥreligion
  8. stanaḥbreast
3

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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.1

    In this verse: “material”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 2.1

    In this verse: “religion”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.1

    In this verse: “worship”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I limiting my understanding of the Lord’s personality to what I know of human bodies?

Practice

Look at the sky or a nearby hill today and offer a moment of worship to the Lord while recalling His gigantic form.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Supreme Lord Is a Complete PersonThis 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 2.1.32? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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