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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
2.6.302.6.32

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.6.31

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

नारायणे भगवति तदिदं विश्वमाहितम् ।

गृहीतमायोरुगुण: सर्गादावगुण: स्वत: ॥ ३१ ॥

nārāyaṇe bhagavati

tad idaṁ viśvam āhitam

gṛhīta-māyoru-guṇaḥ

sargādāv aguṇaḥ svataḥ

Translation

All the material manifestations of the universes are therefore situated in His powerful material energies, which He accepts self-sufficiently, although He is eternally without affinity for the material modes.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Directs His Material Energy

  1. 1

    Material actions and reactions are not the ultimate explanation of creation, maintenance and destruction. Material energy is a potency of the Lord and works under His direction.

  2. 2

    Although the Lord directs material activities, He remains transcendental to them. Fully complete in six opulences, He accomplishes everything through His wishes and direction.

  3. 3

    The entire material manifestation is situated in Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahmājī explains that an impersonal conception of the supreme truth arises from incomplete knowledge.

Key points from the purport
  • The question put by Nārada before Brahmā concerning the sustenance of the material creation is thus answered.
  • The material energy thus works under the supreme spell of His Lordship, although He is always transcendental to all such material activities.
  • Therefore He is not required to do anything personally, but everything in the material world is carried out by His wishes and direction; therefore, the entire material manifestation is situated in Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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. nārāyaṇeunto Nārāyaṇa
  2. bhagavatithe Personality of Godhead
  3. tat idamall these material manifestations
  4. viśvamall the universes
  5. āhitamsituated
  6. gṛhītahaving accepted
  7. māyāmaterial energies
  8. uru-guṇaḥgreatly powerful
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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”

  • 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 does seeing material energy as the Lord's potency change my understanding of the world?

Practice

Observe one material activity today and recall that material energy works under the Supreme Lord's direction.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Directs His Material EnergyThis 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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