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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
2.6.13-162.6.18

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.6.17

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
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

स्वधिष्ण्यं प्रतपन् प्राणो बहिश्च प्रतपत्यसौ ।

एवं विराजं प्रतपंस्तपत्यन्तर्बहि: पुमान् ॥ १७ ॥

sva-dhiṣṇyaṁ pratapan prāṇo

bahiś ca pratapaty asau

evaṁ virājaṁ pratapaṁs

tapaty antar bahiḥ pumān

Translation

The sun illuminates both internally and externally by expanding its radiation; similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by expanding His universal form, maintains everything in the creation both internally and externally.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Source of All Radiation

  1. 1

    As sunshine rests upon the sun, the impersonal brahmajyoti rests upon Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His primary form is Śyāmasundara, with two hands, playing His eternal flute.

  2. 2

    Seventy-five percent of the Lord’s expansive radiation is manifested in the spiritual sky as His internal energy. Twenty-five percent comprises the material universes as His external energy.

  3. 3

    Living entities are His marginal energy, or taṭasthā-śakti, and may live in either expansion. Those in the spiritual expansion are liberated, and they are far more numerous than the conditioned souls.

Key points from the purport
  • The universal form of the Lord, or the impersonal feature of the Lord known as the brahmajyoti, is clearly explained here and compared to the radiation of the sun.
  • Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Kṛṣṇa is the basis of the impersonal brahmajyoti radiation, or the impersonal feature of the Lord.
  • Thus the seventy-five-percent expansion of His radiation is called His internal energy, whereas the twenty-five-percent expansion is called the external energy of the Lord.

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· 2

The purport of SB 2.6.17 quotesBG 14.27

This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.27).

The purport of SB 2.6.17 quotesBG 10.42

This is also explained and stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.42).

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 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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sva-dhiṣṇyamradiation
  2. pratapanby expansion
  3. prāṇaḥliving energy
  4. bahiḥexternal
  5. caalso
  6. pratapatiilluminated
  7. asauthe sun
  8. evamin the same way
3

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 2.6

    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 the comparison with sunshine help me understand the personal source of the Lord’s impersonal radiance?

Practice

When you see daylight today, recall the sun-and-sunshine comparison and remember Kṛṣṇa as the source of the brahmajyoti.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the Source of All RadiationThis 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 2.6.17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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