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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
2.10.352.10.37-40

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.10.36

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

स वाच्यवाचकतया भगवान् ब्रह्मरूपधृक् ।

नामरूपक्रिया धत्ते सकर्माकर्मक: पर: ॥ ३६ ॥

sa vācya-vācakatayā

bhagavān brahma-rūpa-dhṛk

nāma-rūpa-kriyā dhatte

sakarmākarmakaḥ paraḥ

Translation

He, the Personality of Godhead, manifests Himself in a transcendental form, being the subject of His transcendental name, quality, pastimes, entourage and transcendental variegatedness. Although He is unaffected by all such activities, He appears to be so engaged.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Acts Without Material Bondage

  1. 1

    The Personality of Godhead manifests transcendental forms, names, qualities, pastimes and entourage. His forms are not created by material nature.

  2. 2

    Unlike conditioned souls, the Lord is never affected by His activities and has no desire for their fruits. He is already full in wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation.

  3. 3

    One who understands the difference between the Lord's transcendental activities and conditioned activities is not bound by reactions. The Lord conducts creation, maintenance and destruction Himself or through His authorized deputies.

Key points from the purport
  • One should be intelligent enough to know His activities in truth and not be biased to conclude that He descends to the material world by accepting a form created by material nature.
  • A conditioned soul who accepts a material form for undergoing a certain term of material activities is subjected to the laws of matter.
  • Therefore an intelligent person who can distinguish between the transcendental activities of the Lord and the activities of the conditioned souls is also not bound by the reactions of activities.

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· 1

The purport of SB 2.10.36 quotesBG 4.14

In the Bhagavad-gītā (4.14) the Lord says: The Lord is never affected by the activities which He apparently performs by His different incarnations and personalities, nor does He have any desire to achieve success by fruitive activities.

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

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. saḥHe
  2. vācyaby His forms and activities
  3. vācakatayāby His transcendental qualities and entourage
  4. bhagavānthe Personality of Godhead
  5. brahmaabsolute
  6. rūpa-dhṛkby accepting visible forms
  7. nāmaname
  8. rūpaform
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 2.10

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understands”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.10

    In this verse: “wealth”, “material”

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

Do I judge the Lord's activities by the limitations of a conditioned soul?

Practice

Reread the translation today and identify one way the Lord's activities differ from your own.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Acts Without Material BondageThis 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 2.10.36? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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