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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 6: Puruṣa-sūkta Confirmed

2.5.42 2.6.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.6.1

Sarga· Creation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 2.6.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Brahmā → Nārada Muni

ब्रह्मोवाच

वाचां वह्नेर्मुखं क्षेत्रं छन्दसां सप्त धातव: ।

हव्यकव्यामृतान्नानां जिह्वा सर्वरसस्य च ॥ १ ॥

brahmovāca

vācāṁ vahner mukhaṁ kṣetraṁ

chandasāṁ sapta dhātavaḥ

havya-kavyāmṛtānnānāṁ

jihvā sarva-rasasya ca

Translation

Lord Brahmā said: The mouth of the virāṭ-puruṣa [the universal form of the Lord] is the generating center of the voice, and the controlling deity is Fire. His skin and six other layers are the generating centers of the Vedic hymns, and His tongue is the productive center of different foodstuffs and delicacies for offering to the demigods, the forefathers and the general mass of people.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Purify the Senses Through Devotional Service

1
The Lord’s mouth, bodily layers and tongue are generating centers of voice, Vedic hymns and foodstuffs. Our senses and their activities originate in the Lord’s reservoir of senses.
2
Spiritual life is not an impersonal void. Its activities are pure because the living entities engage in unalloyed loving service of the Lord.
3
Our present activities can be purified through devotional service. By turning material attachments toward service of the Lord, freedom from material attachment begins.

Key points from the purport

Since the generating centers are the different parts of the universal form of the Lord, and since the form of the Lord is transcendental to the material creation, it is to be understood that the voice, the tongue, the skin, etc., suggest that the Lord in His transcendental form is not without them.
In the spiritual world, the Lord is the sublime enjoyer of everything, and the living entities there are all engaged in His transcendental loving service without any contamination of the modes of material nature.
The attachments of the material affinity may be simply changed to the service of the Lord, and thus the treatment of being freed from material attachment begins automatically.

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 2.6.1 quotesBG 12.5

The process of liberation is therefore easier through devotional service than by any other methods, for in the Bhagavad-gītā (12.5) it is said that one is subjected to various kinds of tribulations if one is impersonally attached: kleśo ’dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām.

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

Chapter 6: Puruṣa-sūkta Confirmed

Brahmā describes the universal form, his sacrifice, and the Lord’s control over creation, maintenance, and destruction.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.6

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

brahmā uvācaLord Brahmā said
vācāmof the voice
vahneḥof fire
mukhamthe mouth
kṣetramthe generating center
chandasāmof the Vedic hymns, such as Gāyatrī
saptaseven
dhātavaḥskin and six other layers

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 2.6
In this verse: “attachments”, “material”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.6
In this verse: “devotional service”
Śuddhi · Inner transformation
The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 2.6
In this verse: “purified”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which activity could you turn from service based on material attachment toward loving service of the Lord?

Practice

Read one sentence of this translation aloud, consciously using your voice in service of the Lord.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPurify the Senses Through Devotional ServiceThis 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 2.6.1? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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