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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
2.10.42.10.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.10.5

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 2.10.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अवतारानुचरितं हरेश्चास्यानुवर्तिनाम् ।

पुंसामीशकथा: प्रोक्ता नानाख्यानोपबृंहिता: ॥ ५ ॥

avatārānucaritaṁ

hareś cāsyānuvartinām

puṁsām īśa-kathāḥ proktā

nānākhyānopabṛṁhitāḥ

Translation

The science of God describes the incarnations of the Personality of Godhead and His different activities together with the activities of His great devotees.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hear About the Lord and His Devotees

  1. 1

    The science of God describes the incarnations and activities of the Personality of Godhead, together with the activities of His great devotees.

  2. 2

    The material creation exists for the salvation of conditioned souls. Out of causeless mercy, the Lord descends to different planets and acts for their salvation.

  3. 3

    Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam offers transcendental accounts of the Lord in relationship with His great devotees. These topics deserve respectful hearing.

Key points from the purport
  • People in general have a tendency to learn the history and narrations of different men and times, but due to a lack of knowledge in the science of Godhead, they are not apt to study the history of the incarnations of the Personality of Godhead.
  • Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam offers such transcendental topics of the Lord in relationship with great devotees.
  • Therefore the topics of the devotees and the Lord are to be given respectful aural reception.

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. avatāraincarnation of Godhead
  2. anucaritamactivities
  3. hareḥof the Personality of Godhead
  4. caalso
  5. asyaof His
  6. anuvartināmfollowers
  7. puṁsāmof the persons
  8. īśa-kathāḥthe science of God
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotees”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 2.10

    In this verse: “mercy”, “causeless”

  • 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 attention do you give to accounts of the Lord and His devotees compared with other histories?

Practice

Spend five minutes respectfully hearing or reading aloud a passage about the Lord and His devotees from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

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 todayHear About the Lord and His DevoteesThis 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 2.10.5? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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