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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
2.10.422.10.44

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.10.43

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

तत: कालाग्निरुद्रात्मा यत्सृष्टमिदमात्मन: ।

संनियच्छति तत् काले घनानीकमिवानिल: ॥ ४३ ॥

tataḥ kālāgni-rudrātmā

yat sṛṣṭam idam ātmanaḥ

sanniyacchati tat kāle

ghanānīkam ivānilaḥ

Translation

Thereafter, at the end of the millennium, the Lord Himself in the form of Rudra, the destroyer, will annihilate the complete creation as the wind displaces the clouds.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Use Temporary Life for Eternal Service

  1. 1

    The creation is compared to clouds that appear and become unmanifest in the sky. The Supreme Personality of Godhead creates through Brahmā, maintains through Viṣṇu and destroys through Rudra, or Śiva.

  2. 2

    The material world repeatedly appears and disappears; it is not a permanent settlement. However great our material creations become, we must unwillingly leave them behind.

  3. 3

    Instead of wasting energy on temporary matter, we should use it in devotional service to the Lord. This leads to the eternal nature, where life is full of knowledge and unlimited bliss, without birth or death.

Key points from the purport
  • The foolish conditioned soul who has taken this temporary world as a permanent settlement has to learn intelligently why such creation and destruction take place.
  • To give hope to such foolish conditioned souls who waste their energy in this temporary material world, the Lord gives information that there is another nature, which is eternally existent without being occasionally created or destroyed, and that the conditioned soul can understand what he should do and how his valuable energy may be utilized.
  • The temporary creation is thus exhibited and destroyed just to give information to the conditioned soul who is attached to temporary things.

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 2.10.43 quotesBG 8.19

This creation, maintenance and destruction are nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gītā (8.19-20) as follows:

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. tataḥthereafter, at the end
  2. kāladestruction
  3. agnifire
  4. rudra-ātmāin the form of Rudra
  5. yatwhatever
  6. sṛṣṭamcreated
  7. idamall these
  8. ātmanaḥof His own
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.10

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “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

How much of my energy goes toward temporary achievements rather than devotional service?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today from a temporary pursuit and use them for devotional service to the Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

Quoted in 1 lecture. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 1 lecture

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayUse Temporary Life for Eternal ServiceThis 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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