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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
2.7.122.7.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.7.13

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
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

क्षीरोदधावमरदानवयूथपाना-

मुन्मथ्नताममृतलब्धय आदिदेव: ।

पृष्ठेन कच्छपवपुर्विदधार गोत्रं

निद्राक्षणोऽद्रिपरिवर्तकषाणकण्डू: ॥ १३ ॥

kṣīrodadhāv amara-dānava-yūthapānām

unmathnatām amṛta-labdhaya ādi-devaḥ

pṛṣṭhena kacchapa-vapur vidadhāra gotraṁ

nidrākṣaṇo ’dri-parivarta-kaṣāṇa-kaṇḍūḥ

Translation

The primeval Lord then assumed the tortoise incarnation in order to serve as a resting place [pivot] for the Mandara Mountain, which was acting as a churning rod. The demigods and demons were churning the Ocean of Milk with the Mandara Mountain in order to extract nectar. The mountain moved back and forth, scratching the back of Lord Tortoise, who, while partially sleeping, was experiencing an itching sensation.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Know the Lord Through Authentic Scripture

  1. 1

    Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives information beyond our present experience, including the existence of the Ocean of Milk. The Vedic process is to receive knowledge through authentic scriptures and follow great authorities.

  2. 2

    The primeval Lord is all-powerful and can do whatever He likes. His assuming a tortoise or fish incarnation for a particular purpose is therefore not astonishing.

  3. 3

    To help the demigods, the Lord became a gigantic tortoise supporting Mandara Mountain during the churning. The moving mountain scratched His back while He was partially sleeping.

Key points from the purport
  • Although it is not in our experience, there is a milk ocean within this universe.
  • The gigantic work of churning the Milk Ocean by the combined effort of the demigods and the demons required a gigantic resting ground or pivot for the gigantic Mandara Hill.
  • Thus to help the attempt of the demigods the primeval Lord assumed the incarnation of a gigantic tortoise swimming in the Ocean of Milk.

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. kṣīramilk
  2. udadhauin the ocean of
  3. amarathe demigods
  4. dānavathe demons
  5. yūtha-pānāmof the leaders of both hosts
  6. unmathnatāmwhile churning
  7. amṛtanectar
  8. labdhayafor gaining
3

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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 2.7

    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 can you approach scriptural descriptions that lie beyond your personal experience?

Practice

Read this translation once more, noting one detail beyond your experience and the purport’s guidance for understanding it.

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 todayKnow the Lord Through Authentic ScriptureThis 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 2.7.13? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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