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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.
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Canto 2 · Chapter 6: Puruṣa-sūkta Confirmed
2.6.222.6.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.6.23

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
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

यदास्य नाभ्यान्नलिनादहमासं महात्मन: ।

नाविदं यज्ञसम्भारान् पुरुषावयवानृते ॥ २३ ॥

yadāsya nābhyān nalinād

aham āsaṁ mahātmanaḥ

nāvidaṁ yajña-sambhārān

puruṣāvayavān ṛte

Translation

When I was born from the abdominal lotus flower of the Lord [Mahā-Viṣṇu], the great person, I had no ingredients for sacrificial performances except the bodily limbs of the great Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Worship With Gratitude for the Lord’s Gifts

  1. 1

    Brahmā was born from the abdominal lotus of Mahā-Viṣṇu, a plenary expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Inspired by the Lord within his heart, he underwent austerity to acquire sacrificial ingredients.

  2. 2

    Nothing is created out of nothing; everything comes from the Lord. Even the ingredients used to worship Him come from His bodily limbs.

  3. 3

    The devotee worships out of gratitude, knowing that everything belongs to the Lord. This understanding leads to loving service, not to claiming to be the Lord.

Key points from the purport
  • But there was nothing besides the two of them, namely the Personality of Mahā-Viṣṇu and Brahmā himself, born of the bodily part of the Lord.
  • The personalist, however, worships the Lord out of a great sense of gratitude, utilizing the ingredients born out of the bodily limbs of the Lord.
  • Worship of the Lord is also performed by the ingredients born from the bodily limbs of the Lord, and yet the worshiper, who is himself a part of the Lord, achieves the result of devotional service to 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· 1

The purport of SB 2.6.23 quotesBG 10.8

The Lord says in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.8), ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: “Everything is made from My bodily limbs, and I am therefore the original source of all creations.”

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yadāat the time of
  2. asyaHis
  3. nābhyātfrom the abdomen
  4. nalinātfrom the lotus flower
  5. ahammyself
  6. āsamtook my birth
  7. mahā-ātmanaḥof the great person
  8. na avidamdid not know
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.6

    In this verse: “devotee”, “worship”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 2.6

    In this verse: “understanding”

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

What do I call my own that I could instead recognize as the Lord’s property?

Practice

Choose one resource you have today and use it in the Lord’s service with gratitude.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayWorship With Gratitude for the Lord’s GiftsThis 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 2.6.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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