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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

2.10.8 2.10.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.10.9

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

एकमेकतराभावे यदा नोपलभामहे ।

त्रितयं तत्र यो वेद स आत्मा स्वाश्रयाश्रय: ॥ ९ ॥

ekam ekatarābhāve

yadā nopalabhāmahe

tritayaṁ tatra yo veda

sa ātmā svāśrayāśrayaḥ

Translation

All three of the above-mentioned stages of different living entities are interdependent. In the absence of one, another is not understood. But the Supreme Being who sees every one of them as the shelter of the shelter is independent of all, and therefore He is the supreme shelter.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Ultimate Shelter

1
The eyes, sunlight and the sun depend on one another for vision. Their interdependence points to a source who is completely independent.
2
Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate source and shelter of all entities, including the Supersoul and Supreme Brahman.
3
The individual soul forgets his spiritual identity, but the Supersoul never forgets His transcendental position. The individual soul depends on Him for liberation from illusion.

Key points from the purport

In the Bhagavad-gītā (15.18) Lord Kṛṣṇa says that He is the Puruṣottama and the source of everything, and thus it is concluded that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate source and shelter of all entities, including the Supersoul and Supreme Brahman.
In that sense also the Supersoul is the supreme shelter.
The propaganda of the identity of cosmic consciousness with the consciousness of the individual living entities is completely misleading because even such a person or individual soul as Arjuna could not remember his past deeds, although he is always with the Lord.

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· 2

The purport of SB 2.10.9 quotesBG 15.18

In the Bhagavad-gītā (15.18) Lord Kṛṣṇa says that He is the Puruṣottama and the source of everything, and thus it is concluded that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate source and shelter of all entities, including the Supersoul and Supreme Brahman.

The purport of SB 2.10.9 quotesBG 7.26

The Lord can remember such millions and billions of years, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.26) as follows: The Lord in His eternal blissful body of knowledge is fully aware of all that happened in the past, that which is going on at the present and also what will happen in the future.

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

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

ekamone
ekataraanother
abhāvein the absence of
yadābecause
nadoes not
upalabhāmaheperceptible
tritayamin three stages
tatrathere

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
Viraha · Longing in separation
Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 2.10
In this verse: “absence”
Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender
Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 2.10
In this verse: “shelter”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.10
In this verse: “illusion”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does recognizing my dependence on the Supersoul challenge my sense of independence?

Practice

Look at something in daylight and briefly reflect on how your vision depends on both eyes and sunlight, with Kṛṣṇa as the ultimate shelter.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the Ultimate ShelterThis 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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