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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

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 2 · Chapter 1: The First Step in God Realization

2.1.32 2.1.34

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.1.33

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

नद्योऽस्य नाड्योऽथ तनूरुहाणि

महीरुहा विश्वतनोर्नृपेन्द्र ।

अनन्तवीर्य: श्वसितं मातरिश्वा

गतिर्वय: कर्म गुणप्रवाह: ॥ ३३ ॥

nadyo ’sya nāḍyo ’tha tanū-ruhāṇi

mahī-ruhā viśva-tanor nṛpendra

ananta-vīryaḥ śvasitaṁ mātariśvā

gatir vayaḥ karma guṇa-pravāhaḥ

Translation

O King, the rivers are the veins of the gigantic body, the trees are the hairs of His body, and the omnipotent air is His breath. The passing ages are His movements, and His activities are the reactions of the three modes of material nature.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Nature Acts Under the Lord’s Direction

1
The Personality of Godhead is neither inactive nor a dead stone. He knows the past, present and future; nothing is unknown to Him.
2
The modes of material nature act only under His direction. Natural functions are not blind or automatic, even though the Lord need not personally perform every task.
3
Rivers are His veins, trees His bodily hairs, air His breath, and passing ages His movements. Studying these can help one conceive of the personal Lord rather than regard Him as formless.

Key points from the purport

The conditioned souls are driven by the reactions of the modes of material nature, which are the activities of the Lord.
The power behind the activities is the supervision of the Lord, and thus the Lord is never inactive as is wrongly conceived.
So even by studying the rivers, trees, air and passing ages, one can conceive of the Personality of Godhead without being misled by the formless conception of the Lord.

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

Connected verses· 2

The purport of SB 2.1.33 quotesBG 7.12

As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.12), the modes of nature act under His direction only, and as such no natural functions are blind or automatic.

The purport of SB 2.1.33 quotesBG 12.5

In the Bhagavad-gītā (12.5) it is stated that those who are much inclined to the formless conception of the Supreme Truth are more troubled than those who can intelligently conceive of the personal form.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

nadyaḥthe rivers
asyaof Him
nāḍyaḥveins
athaand thereafter
tanū-ruhāṇihairs on the body
mahī-ruhāḥthe plants and trees
viśva-tanoḥof the universal form
nṛpa-indraO King

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”
Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership
Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 2.1
In this verse: “king”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How would remembering the Lord’s supervision change the way I observe nature?

Practice

Observe a tree, a river or the movement of air for one minute, recalling its description in the Lord’s universal form.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayNature Acts Under the Lord’s DirectionThis 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 2.1.33? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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