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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
2.6.22.6.4

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.6.3

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

रूपाणां तेजसां चक्षुर्दिव: सूर्यस्य चाक्षिणी ।

कर्णौ दिशां च तीर्थानां श्रोत्रमाकाशशब्दयो: ॥ ३ ॥

rūpāṇāṁ tejasāṁ cakṣur

divaḥ sūryasya cākṣiṇī

karṇau diśāṁ ca tīrthānāṁ

śrotram ākāśa-śabdayoḥ

Translation

His eyes are the generating centers of all kinds of forms, and they glitter and illuminate. His eyeballs are like the sun and the heavenly planets. His ears hear from all sides and are receptacles for all the Vedas, and His sense of hearing is the generating center of the sky and of all kinds of sound.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Seeing and Hearing Originate in the Lord

  1. 1

    The Lord’s eyes generate all kinds of forms and are illuminating. His eyeballs are like the sun and the heavenly planets.

  2. 2

    His ears hear from all sides and receive all the Vedas. His sense of hearing generates the sky and all kinds of sound.

  3. 3

    Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains tīrthānām here as the reception of Vedic transcendental knowledge. Those who teach Vedic knowledge are also known as tīrthas.

Key points from the purport
  • The word tīrthānām is sometimes interpreted to mean the places of pilgrimage, but Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says that it means the reception of the Vedic transcendental knowledge.
  • The propounders of the Vedic knowledge are also known as the tīrthas.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. rūpāṇāmfor all kinds of forms
  2. tejasāmof all that is illuminating
  3. cakṣuḥthe eyes
  4. divaḥthat which glitters
  5. sūryasyaof the sun
  6. caalso
  7. akṣiṇīthe eyeballs
  8. karṇauthe ears
3

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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 2.6

    In this verse: “hearing”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”

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 could you give more attention to receiving transcendental knowledge through hearing?

Practice

Read this translation aloud slowly, listening carefully to its description of the Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySeeing and Hearing Originate in the LordThis 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 2.6.3? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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