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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
2.7.192.7.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.7.20

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
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

चक्रं च दिक्ष्वविहतं दशसु स्वतेजो

मन्वन्तरेषु मनुवंशधरो बिभर्ति ।

दुष्टेषु राजसु दमं व्यदधात् स्वकीर्तिं

सत्ये त्रिपृष्ठ उशतीं प्रथयंश्चरित्रै: ॥ २० ॥

cakraṁ ca dikṣv avihataṁ daśasu sva-tejo

manvantareṣu manu-vaṁśa-dharo bibharti

duṣṭeṣu rājasu damaṁ vyadadhāt sva-kīrtiṁ

satye tri-pṛṣṭha uśatīṁ prathayaṁś caritraiḥ

Translation

As the incarnation of Manu, the Lord became the descendant of the Manu dynasty and ruled over the miscreant kingly order, subduing them by His powerful wheel weapon. Undeterred in all circumstances, His rule was characterized by His glorious fame, which spread over the three lokas, and above them to the planetary system of Satyaloka, the topmost in the universe.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Rules and Spreads His Glories

  1. 1

    Fourteen Manus appear in one day of Brahmā. The succession of Manus helps us appreciate how extensively the Supreme Lord’s incarnations work throughout the material worlds.

  2. 2

    The material worlds comprise only one fourth of the total energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Innumerable Brahmās live during one breathing period of Mahā-Viṣṇu.

  3. 3

    The manvantara incarnation chastises miscreant rulers with the power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These incarnations also disseminate the Lord’s transcendental glories.

Key points from the purport
  • So we can just imagine how the incarnations of the Supreme Lord work all over the material worlds, which comprehend only one fourth of the total energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • The manvantara incarnation chastises all the miscreant rulers of different planets with as much power as that of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who punishes the miscreants with His wheel weapon.
  • The manvantara incarnations disseminate the transcendental glories of the Lord.

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. cakramthe Sudarśana wheel of the Lord
  2. caas well as
  3. dikṣuin all directions
  4. avihatamwithout being deterred
  5. daśasuten sides
  6. sva-tejaḥpersonal strength
  7. manvantareṣuin different incarnations of Manu
  8. manu-vaṁśa-dharaḥas the descendant of the Manu dynasty
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 2.7

    In this verse: “kingly”, “rulers”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    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

How does the vast scale of the Lord’s activity deepen my appreciation of His greatness?

Practice

Read the translation aloud once, giving special attention to how the Lord’s rule spreads His glories.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Rules and Spreads His GloriesThis 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 2.7.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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