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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
2.6.40-412.6.43-45

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.6.42

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

आद्योऽवतार: पुरुष: परस्य

काल: स्वभाव: सदसन्मनश्च ।

द्रव्यं विकारो गुण इन्द्रियाणि

विराट् स्वराट् स्थास्‍नु चरिष्णु भूम्न: ॥ ४२ ॥

ādyo ’vatāraḥ puruṣaḥ parasya

kālaḥ svabhāvaḥ sad-asan-manaś ca

dravyaṁ vikāro guṇa indriyāṇi

virāṭ svarāṭ sthāsnu cariṣṇu bhūmnaḥ

Translation

Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu is the first incarnation of the Supreme Lord, and He is the master of eternal time, space, cause and effects, mind, the elements, the material ego, the modes of nature, the senses, the universal form of the Lord, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and the sum total of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Creation Offers a Chance to Return

  1. 1

    The temporary material creation gives conditioned souls a chance to correct their desire to be false masters. Living entities are eternally servants of the Lord, but some misuse their independence and do not wish to serve.

  2. 2

    Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu manifests and manages the material creation through the Lord’s energies. All its ingredients and living beings remain under the Supreme Lord’s control.

  3. 3

    Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu is a plenary part of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead. The Vedas teach our eternal relationship with Him, a relationship of loving transcendental service.

Key points from the purport
  • The living entities are constitutionally eternal servitors of the Lord, but some of them, because of misusing their independence, do not wish to serve; therefore they are allowed to enjoy the material nature, which is called māyā, or illusion.
  • So the temporary creation of the material manifestation is an exhibition of the material energy of the Lord, and to manage the whole show the Supreme Lord incarnates Himself as the Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu just as a magistrate is deputed by the government to manage affairs temporarily.
  • This first incarnation in the material creation, namely Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu, is the plenary part of the original Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, described in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.48) as follows:

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· 2

Quoted in the purport ofCC Ādi 5.83

This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.6.42).

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 20.267

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.6.42).

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ādyaḥfirst
  2. avatāraḥincarnation
  3. puruṣaḥKāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu
  4. parasyaof the Lord
  5. kālaḥtime
  6. svabhāvaḥspace
  7. satresult
  8. asatcause
3

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”

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

Where am I trying to act as an independent master rather than a servant of Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Before one task today, pause and resolve to do it in a spirit of service to Kṛṣṇa rather than personal mastery.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayCreation Offers a Chance to ReturnThis 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 2.6.42? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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