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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

2.6.37 2.6.39

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.6.38

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

यस्यावतारकर्माणि गायन्ति ह्यस्मदादय: ।

न यं विदन्ति तत्त्वेन तस्मै भगवते नम: ॥ ३८ ॥

yasyāvatāra-karmāṇi

gāyanti hy asmad-ādayaḥ

na yaṁ vidanti tattvena

tasmai bhagavate namaḥ

Translation

Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose incarnations and activities are chanted by us for glorification, though He can hardly be fully known as He is.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Reveals Himself Through Devotional Service

1
The Lord’s transcendental name, form, qualities and activities cannot be perceived by gross materialistic senses. Hearing, chanting, remembering and worshiping purify the senses through devotional service.
2
The Lord is not an order-supplying agent who must appear whenever we demand it. He reveals Himself according to the devotee’s spiritual advancement and is pleased by humble, earnest devotional activities.
3
Brahmā advises us to hear and chant the glories of the Lord’s incarnations. Although no method allows us to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead fully, through devotional service He can be partially seen and felt.

Key points from the purport

But when the senses are purified by the process of hearing, chanting, remembering, and worshiping the lotus feet of the holy Deity, etc., the Lord reveals Himself proportionately to the advancement of the quality of devotional service (ye yathā māṁ prapadyante).
As the senses are progressively purified by bona fide devotional service, the Lord reveals His identity according to the spiritual advancement of the devotee.
The conclusion is that one cannot know the Supreme Personality of Godhead fully by any method, but He can be seen and felt partially by the devotional service process of hearing, chanting, etc.

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 2.6.38 quotesSB 1.2.12

bhaktyā śruta-gṛhītayā. The conclusion is that one cannot know the Supreme Personality of Godhead fully by any method, but He can be seen and felt partially by the devotional service process of hearing, chanting, etc.

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.

yasyawhose
avatāraincarnation
karmāṇiactivities
gāyantichant in glorification
hiindeed
asmat-ādayaḥpersons like us
nado not
yamwhom

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
Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting
Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 2.6
In this verse: “chanted”, “glorification”, “chanting”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.6
In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotee’s”, “worshiping”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.6
In this verse: “materialistic”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I approaching the Lord with humble service or expecting Him to satisfy my demands?

Practice

Spend a few minutes reading aloud this verse’s glorification of the Lord, then offer respectful obeisances.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 1.2.12

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 2.6's connections

Live this todayThe Lord Reveals Himself Through Devotional ServiceThis 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 2.6.38? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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