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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

2.6.17 2.6.19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.6.18

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

सोऽमृतस्याभयस्येशो मर्त्यमन्नं यदत्यगात् ।

महिमैष ततो ब्रह्मन् पुरुषस्य दुरत्यय: ॥ १८ ॥

so ’mṛtasyābhayasyeśo

martyam annaṁ yad atyagāt

mahimaiṣa tato brahman

puruṣasya duratyayaḥ

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the controller of immortality and fearlessness, and He is transcendental to death and the fruitive actions of the material world. O Nārada, O brāhmaṇa, it is therefore difficult to measure the glories of the Supreme Person.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Grants Immortality and Fearlessness

1
The spiritual planets are eternal, indestructible and free from material limitations. Their inhabitants are liberated from birth, death, old age and disease.
2
The Supreme Lord is the Lord of immortality and can award immortality and fearlessness to His devotees. Unlike material happiness, spiritual happiness does not diminish.
3
The liberated inhabitants render transcendental loving service to Lord Nārāyaṇa. The happiness of His eternal kingdom is attained by unalloyed devotees through His divine grace.

Key points from the purport

The Supreme Lord, who is the leader of all living entities, can award all the qualities of His personality unto His devotees, including immortality and spiritual bliss.
In the material world there is always anxiety or fearfulness in the hearts of all living entities, but the Lord, being Himself the supreme fearless, also awards the same quality of fearlessness to His pure devotees.
Such unalloyed spiritual bliss is nowhere to be found within the orbit of the material universe, including the Janaloka planets or, for that matter, the Maharloka or Satyaloka planets, because even Lord Brahmā is subject to the laws of fruitive actions and the law of birth and death.

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 2.6.18 quotesBG 8.16

In the Bhagavad-gītā (8.16) the Lord also assures that whoever may go to His abode of immortality shall never return to this mortal land of threefold miseries.

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.

saḥHe (the Lord)
amṛtasyaof deathlessness
abhayasyaof fearlessness
īśaḥthe controller
martyamdying
annamfruitive action
yatone who has
atyagāthas transcended

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
Abhaya · Fearlessness
Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 2.6
In this verse: “fearlessness”, “death”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.6
In this verse: “material”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.6
In this verse: “devotees”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might seeking loving service to the Lord change my search for lasting happiness?

Practice

Spend two minutes today reading aloud the purport’s description of loving service to Lord Nārāyaṇa, reflecting on service as your goal.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Grants Immortality and FearlessnessThis 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 2.6.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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