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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 10: Bhāgavatam Is the Answer to All Questions
2.10.282.10.30

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.10.29

Sarga· Creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 2.10.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

आदित्सोरन्नपानानामासन् कुक्ष्यन्त्रनाडय: ।

नद्य: समुद्राश्च तयोस्तुष्टि: पुष्टिस्तदाश्रये ॥ २९ ॥

āditsor anna-pānānām

āsan kukṣy-antra-nāḍayaḥ

nadyaḥ samudrāś ca tayos

tuṣṭiḥ puṣṭis tad-āśraye

Translation

When there was a desire to have food and drink, the abdomen and the intestines and also the arteries became manifested. The rivers and seas are the source of their sustenance and metabolism.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Body Depends on Sustenance

  1. 1

    When there was a desire for food and drink, the abdomen, intestines and arteries became manifested.

  2. 2

    Food and drink sustain the body, and their metabolism replaces spent bodily energy.

  3. 3

    The rivers are the controlling deities of the intestines, and the seas govern the arteries. The purport explains that they keep these bodily systems in healthy order.

Key points from the purport
  • The controlling deities of the intestines are the rivers, and those of the arteries, the seas.
  • Fulfillment of the belly with food and drink is the cause of sustenance, and the metabolism of the food and drink replaces the waste of the bodily energies.
  • Therefore, the body’s health is dependent on healthy actions of the intestines and the arteries.

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

Inquiry → Conviction. Divine knowledge resolves fundamental cosmic uncertainty.

Chapters 8–10 of Canto 2: Parīkṣit questions; Brahmā receives revelation. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 10: Bhāgavatam Is the Answer to All Questions

Śukadeva outlines the Bhāgavatam’s subjects and describes creation through the Lord’s universal form.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.10
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. āditsoḥdesiring to have
  2. anna-pānānāmof food and drink
  3. āsanthere became
  4. kukṣithe abdomen
  5. antrathe intestines
  6. nāḍayaḥand the arteries
  7. nadyaḥthe rivers
  8. samudrāḥseas
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sarga · The creation of the universe

    Where does the universe come from? · Subject 1 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 2.10

    In this verse: “govern”

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

How does this description help me recognize the body's dependence on sources beyond itself?

Practice

At one meal today, pause to consider how food and drink sustain your body.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Body Depends on SustenanceThis 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.

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