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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 4: The Process of Creation
2.4.112.4.13

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.4.12

Sarga· Creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 2.4.12inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्री शुक उवाच

नम: परस्मै पुरुषाय भूयसे

सदुद्भवस्थाननिरोधलीलया ।

गृहीतशक्तित्रितयाय देहिना-

मन्तर्भवायानुपलक्ष्यवर्त्मने ॥ १२ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca

namaḥ parasmai puruṣāya bhūyase

sad-udbhava-sthāna-nirodha-līlayā

gṛhīta-śakti-tritayāya dehinām

antarbhavāyānupalakṣya-vartmane

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who, for the creation of the material world, accepts the three modes of nature. He is the complete whole residing within the body of everyone, and His ways are inconceivable.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Know the Complete Lord Through Bhakti-yoga

  1. 1

    The material world manifests through goodness, passion and ignorance. For its creation, maintenance and destruction, the Supreme Lord accepts the forms of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śaṅkara.

  2. 2

    As Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Lord enters every universe, and as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, He enters every living being’s body. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the complete whole and the origin of all viṣṇu-tattvas.

  3. 3

    Bhakti-yoga is the only process by which one becomes competent to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His ways remain inconceivable to empiric philosophers and mystic yogīs.

Key points from the purport
  • This material world is a manifestation of the three modes goodness, passion and ignorance, and the Supreme Lord, for the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material world, accepts three predominating forms as Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śaṅkara (Śiva).
  • As Viṣṇu He enters into every body materially created.
  • Because the empiric philosophers and mystic yogīs cannot conceive of the Personality of Godhead, He is called anupalakṣya-vartmane, the Lord of the inconceivable way, or bhakti-yoga.

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 2.4.12 quotesBG 15.18

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, being the origin of all viṣṇu-tattvas, is addressed here as paraḥ pumān, or Puruṣottama, as described in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.18).

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

Uncertainty → Awe. The scale of reality widens dramatically.

Chapters 4–7 of Canto 2: The creation, cosmic Person and incarnations. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 4: The Process of Creation

Parīkṣit fixes his mind on Kṛṣṇa and asks about creation; Śukadeva offers prayers before answering.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.4
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-śukaḥ uvācaŚrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
  2. namaḥoffering obeisances
  3. parasmaithe Supreme
  4. puruṣāyaPersonality of Godhead
  5. bhūyaseunto the complete whole
  6. sad-udbhavathe creation of the material world
  7. sthānaits maintenance
  8. nirodhaand its winding up
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sarga · The creation of the universe

    Where does the universe come from? · Subject 1 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.4

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.4

    In this verse: “bhakti-yoga”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 2.4

    In this verse: “philosophers”

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 can remembering the Lord’s presence within everyone deepen your devotion to Him?

Practice

Offer respectful obeisances to Śrī Kṛṣṇa today, remembering Him as the complete whole and asking to know Him through devotional service.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKnow the Complete Lord Through Bhakti-yogaThis 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 2.4.12? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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