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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 5: The Cause of All Causes
2.5.102.5.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.5.11

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 2.5.9inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Brahmā → Nārada Muni

येन स्वरोचिषा विश्वं रोचितं रोचयाम्यहम् ।

यथार्कोऽग्निर्यथा सोमो यथर्क्षग्रहतारका: ॥ ११ ॥

yena sva-rociṣā viśvaṁ

rocitaṁ rocayāmy aham

yathārko ’gnir yathā somo

yatharkṣa-graha-tārakāḥ

Translation

I create after the Lord’s creation by His personal effulgence [known as the brahmajyoti], just as when the sun manifests its fire, the moon, the firmament, the influential planets and the twinkling stars also manifest their brightness.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Ultimate Cause of Creation

  1. 1

    Brahmājī creates the varieties of the universe only after the Lord’s creation. Like a gardener, he helps seeds develop but cannot create the seeds.

  2. 2

    The brahmajyoti is the effulgence of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental body. It makes creation possible but is neither independent nor self-sufficient.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, creates through His potencies. Brahmājī therefore worships Govinda as the primeval Lord and ultimate cause.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Brahmājī said to Nārada that his impression that Brahmā was not the supreme authority in the creation was correct.
  • Therefore the potent seed of all creation is the brahmajyoti, and the same brahmajyoti, unlimited and unfathomed, is established by the Lord.
  • Therefore the Lord (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) is ultimately the supreme cause of all creation (ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ).

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 2.5.11 quotesBG 14.27

The same statement is in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.27).

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 5: The Cause of All Causes

Nārada questions Brahmā, who explains his dependence on the Supreme Lord and describes creation.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yenaby whom
  2. sva-rociṣāby His own effulgence
  3. viśvamall the world
  4. rocitamalready created by His potency
  5. rocayāmido manifest
  6. ahamI
  7. yathāas much
  8. arkaḥthe sun
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Visarga · Subcreation

    How do living beings and their worlds appear? · Subject 2 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.5

    In this verse: “worships”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does Brahmājī’s example help me recognize the source of my own abilities?

Practice

Notice one growing plant today and remember that its original creative potency comes from the Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the Ultimate Cause of CreationThis 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 2.5.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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