1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 2 · The Cosmic Manifestation · 10 chapters

12345678910

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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
2.10.52.10.7

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.10.6

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

निरोधोऽस्यानुशयनमात्मन: सह शक्तिभि: ।

मुक्तिर्हित्वान्यथारूपं स्वरूपेण व्यवस्थिति: ॥ ६ ॥

nirodho ’syānuśayanam

ātmanaḥ saha śaktibhiḥ

muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ

sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ

Translation

The merging of the living entity, along with his conditional living tendency, with the mystic lying down of the Mahā-Viṣṇu is called the winding up of the cosmic manifestation. Liberation is the permanent situation of the form of the living entity after he gives up the changeable gross and subtle material bodies.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Liberation Means Returning to Our Original Position

  1. 1

    At the winding up of the cosmos, most conditioned souls merge into Mahā-Viṣṇu during His mystic slumber, to appear again in the next creation. This is different from liberation.

  2. 2

    Liberation means giving up the changeable gross and subtle material bodies and becoming permanently situated in one’s original spiritual form. Revealed scriptures give conditioned souls a chance to revive their original relationship with Godhead.

  3. 3

    All Vedic literatures aim at devotional service to the Personality of Godhead, the unlimited source of all pleasure. Reading or hearing these literatures helps one become liberated even while living in material conditions.

Key points from the purport
  • So after the winding up of the cosmic manifestation, most of the conditioned souls merge into the existence of the Mahā-Viṣṇu Personality of Godhead, lying in His mystic slumber, to be created again in the next creation.
  • But some of the conditioned souls, who follow the transcendental sound in the form of Vedic literatures and are thus able to go back to Godhead, attain spiritual and original bodies after quitting the conditional gross and subtle material bodies.
  • The material conditional bodies develop out of the living entities’ forgetfulness of their relationship with Godhead, and during the course of the cosmic manifestation, the conditioned souls are given a chance to revive their original status of life with the help of revealed scriptures, so mercifully compiled by the Lord in His different incarnations.

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· 5

Quoted in the purport ofSB 4.22.27

As said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.10.6), mukti (liberation) means svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ, being situated in one’s own constitutional position.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 4.23.18

As it is said, hitvānyathā-rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ: when a living entity abandons the activities of māyā and attains the position from which he can execute devotional service, his state is called svarūpa-sthaḥ, or complete liberation.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 4.24.78

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.10.6), muktir hitvānyathā-rūpam svarupeṇa vyavasthitiḥ: mukti means giving up all other activities and being situated in one’s constitutional position.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 8.4.13

This is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.10.6): muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ svarūpena vyavasthitiḥ.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 9.19.26

Muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ. Under the influence of māyā, everyone living in this material world thinks that he is the master of everything (ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate).

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. nirodhaḥthe winding up of the cosmic manifestation
  2. asyaof His
  3. anuśayanamthe lying down of the puruṣa incarnation Mahā-Viṣṇu in mystic slumber
  4. ātmanaḥof the living entities
  5. sahaalong with
  6. śaktibhiḥwith the energies
  7. muktiḥliberation
  8. hitvāgiving up
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 2.10

    In this verse: “hearing”

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 might seeking pleasure in devotional service help you remember your relationship with the Lord?

Practice

Read or hear this purport for five minutes, focusing on devotional service as the aim of Vedic literature.

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 70 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 70 lectures

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 todayLiberation Means Returning to Our Original PositionThis 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 2.10.6? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories