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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 7: Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions
2.7.92.7.11

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.7.10

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 2.7.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Brahmā → Nārada Muni

नाभेरसावृषभ आस सुदेविसूनु-

र्यो वै चचार समद‍ृग् जडयोगचर्याम् ।

यत्पारमहंस्यमृषय: पदमामनन्ति

स्वस्थ: प्रशान्तकरण: परिमुक्तसङ्ग: ॥ १० ॥

nābher asāv ṛṣabha āsa sudevi-sūnur

yo vai cacāra sama-dṛg jaḍa-yoga-caryām

yat pāramahaṁsyam ṛṣayaḥ padam āmananti

svasthaḥ praśānta-karaṇaḥ parimukta-saṅgaḥ

Translation

The Lord appeared as the son of Sudevī, the wife of King Nābhi, and was known as Ṛṣabhadeva. He performed materialistic yoga to equibalance the mind. This stage is also accepted as the highest perfectional situation of liberation, wherein one is situated in one’s self and is completely satisfied.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Rather Than Imitate Extraordinary Austerities

  1. 1

    The Lord appeared as Ṛṣabhadeva and demonstrated jaḍa-yoga, remaining unaffected by bodily mistreatment. Its real purpose is freedom from material attachment and complete establishment in the self.

  2. 2

    Ṛṣabhadeva’s uncommon practices should not be imitated by ordinary people. The purpose of every system of yoga is to subdue the material senses and prepare for self-realization.

  3. 3

    For this age, bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, is the practical path. Hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from the right source can lead to the highest perfection of yoga.

Key points from the purport
  • Out of many types of mystic performances for self-realization, the process of jaḍa-yoga is also one accepted by authorities.
  • But the real purpose of such jaḍa-yoga practice is to get free from all material affection and to be completely situated in the self.
  • It is sometimes proposed that Sudevī was another wife of King Nābhi, but since King Ṛṣabhadeva is mentioned elsewhere as the son of Merudevī, it is clear that Merudevī and Sudevī are the same person under different names.

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 7: Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions

Brahmā recounts the Lord’s incarnations and explains that unalloyed surrender enables one to understand Him.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.7
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nābheḥby Mahārāja Nābhi
  2. asauthe Personality of Godhead
  3. ṛṣabhaḥṚṣabha
  4. āsabecame
  5. sudeviSudevī
  6. sūnuḥthe son of
  7. yaḥwho
  8. vaicertainly
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.7

    In this verse: “materialistic”, “attachment”, “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.7

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “bhakti-yoga”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 2.7

    In this verse: “king”

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

Am I seeking steady devotional hearing rather than impressive or extreme practices?

Practice

Spend five minutes hearing or reading this passage of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam attentively.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

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

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 2.7's connections

Live this todayHear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Rather Than Imitate Extraordinary AusteritiesThis 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 2.7.10? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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