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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 6: Puruṣa-sūkta Confirmed
2.6.92.6.11

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.6.10

Sthāna· The universe in order
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

पराभूतेरधर्मस्य तमसश्चापि पश्‍चिम: ।

नाड्यो नदनदीनां च गोत्राणामस्थिसंहति: ॥ १० ॥

parābhūter adharmasya

tamasaś cāpi paścimaḥ

nāḍyo nada-nadīnāṁ ca

gotrāṇām asthi-saṁhatiḥ

Translation

The back of the Lord is the place for all kinds of frustration and ignorance, as well as for immorality. From His veins flow the great rivers and rivulets, and on His bones are stacked the great mountains.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Is Never a Formless Void

  1. 1

    The Lord’s back is the place of frustration, ignorance and immorality. Great rivers flow from His veins, and great mountains are stacked on His bones.

  2. 2

    This description challenges a merely impersonal conception of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His form is distinct from ordinary material forms, and He is never a formless void.

  3. 3

    The Lord is both personal and impersonal, but His personal feature is original. His impersonal emanation is a reflection of His transcendental body.

Key points from the purport
  • Ignorance is the back of the Lord, and therefore the ignorance of the less intelligent class of men is also not separate from His bodily conception.
  • The Personality of Godhead is the original feature of the Lord, and His impersonal emanation is but the reflection of His transcendental body.
  • Those who are fortunate enough to have a view of the Lord from the front can realize His personal feature, whereas those who are frustrated and are thus kept on the ignorance side of the Lord, or, in other words, those who have the view of the Lord from the back, realize Him in His impersonal feature.

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 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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. parābhūteḥof frustration
  2. adharmasyaof immorality
  3. tamasaḥof ignorance
  4. caand
  5. apias also
  6. paścimaḥthe back
  7. nāḍyaḥof the intestines
  8. nadaof the great rivers
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sthāna · Planetary systems

    How is the universe arranged, and what is our right place in it? · Subject 3 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.6

    In this verse: “material”

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 does understanding the Lord’s personal feature as original shape your view of Him?

Practice

Spend a minute reflecting on this teaching: the Personality of Godhead is original, and the Lord is never a formless void.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Is Never a Formless VoidThis 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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