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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
2.5.172.5.19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.5.18

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
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

सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति निर्गुणस्य गुणास्त्रय: ।

स्थितिसर्गनिरोधेषु गृहीता मायया विभो: ॥ १८ ॥

sattvaṁ rajas tama iti

nirguṇasya guṇās trayaḥ

sthiti-sarga-nirodheṣu

gṛhītā māyayā vibhoḥ

Translation

The Supreme Lord is pure, spiritual form, transcendental to all material qualities, yet for the sake of the creation of the material world and its maintenance and annihilation, He accepts through His external energy the material modes of nature called goodness, passion and ignorance.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Remains Beyond Material Qualities

  1. 1

    The Supreme Lord has a pure spiritual form beyond material qualities. Through His external energy, He accepts goodness, passion and ignorance for material maintenance, creation and annihilation.

  2. 2

    The Lord controls the material modes and is never bewildered by them. Living beings, although originally qualitatively one with Him, can become controlled by those modes.

  3. 3

    The Lord eternally manifests through His spiritual energy. Just as the sun remains unaffected by a cloud, He remains unaffected by His material energy.

Key points from the purport
  • The Supreme Lord is the master of the external energy manifested by the three material modes, namely goodness, passion and ignorance, and as master of this energy He is ever unaffected by the influence of such bewildering energy.
  • In other words, the material modes of nature, being products of the energy of the Lord, are certainly connected with the Lord, but the connection is just like that between the master and the servants.
  • The Supreme Lord is the controller of the material energy, whereas the living entities, who are entangled in the material world, are neither masters nor controllers.

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

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sattvamthe mode of goodness
  2. rajaḥthe mode of passion
  3. tamaḥthe mode of ignorance
  4. itiall these
  5. nirguṇasyaof the Transcendence
  6. guṇāḥ trayaḥare three qualities
  7. sthitimaintenance
  8. sargacreation
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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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.5

    In this verse: “material”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does my susceptibility to material influence show my difference from the Supreme Lord?

Practice

Reflect for one minute on the sun-and-cloud example, remembering that material influence never covers the Supreme Lord.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Remains Beyond Material QualitiesThis 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 2.5.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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