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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
2.7.382.7.40

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.7.39

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
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

सर्गे तपोऽहमृषयो नव ये प्रजेशा:

स्थानेऽथ धर्ममखमन्वमरावनीशा: ।

अन्ते त्वधर्महरमन्युवशासुराद्या

मायाविभूतय इमा: पुरुशक्तिभाज: ॥ ३९ ॥

sarge tapo ’ham ṛṣayo nava ye prajeśāḥ

sthāne ’tha dharma-makha-manv-amarāvanīśāḥ

ante tv adharma-hara-manyu-vaśāsurādyā

māyā-vibhūtaya imāḥ puru-śakti-bhājaḥ

Translation

At the beginning of creation there are penance, myself [Brahmā] and the Prajāpatis, the great sages who generate; then, during the maintenance of the creation, there are Lord Viṣṇu, the demigods with controlling powers, and the kings of different planets. But at the end there is irreligion, and then Lord Śiva and the atheists full of anger, etc. All of them are different representative manifestations of the energy of the supreme power, the Lord.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Creation Offers a Chance for Liberation

  1. 1

    The material world is created by the Lord’s energy. Its creation, maintenance and destruction involve different representative manifestations of His power.

  2. 2

    Viṣṇu is the Lord of goodness, Brahmā of passion, and Śiva of ignorance. Devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu is factual religion.

  3. 3

    This temporary creation gives conditioned souls a chance for liberation. Developing goodness under Lord Viṣṇu’s protection and following Vaiṣṇava principles leads toward His kingdom, without returning to material misery.

Key points from the purport
  • The material world is created by the energy of the Lord, which is manifested in the beginning of the creation by the penance of Brahmājī, the first living being in the creation, and then there are the nine Prajāpatis, known as great sages.
  • In the stage when the creation is maintained, there are devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu, or factual religion, the different demigods, and the kings of different planets who maintain the world.
  • At last, when the creation is preparing to wind up, there is first the principle of irreligion, then Lord Śiva along with the atheists, full of anger.

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

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 20.374

The expansion of specific māyā powers is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.7.39).

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 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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sargein the beginning of the creation
  2. tapaḥpenance
  3. ahammyself
  4. ṛṣayaḥsages
  5. navanine
  6. ye prajeśāḥthose who would generate
  7. sthānein the middle while maintaining the creation
  8. athacertainly
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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 2.7

    In this verse: “kings”, “kingdom”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 2.7

    In this verse: “religion”, “principles”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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 could you use your time today as an opportunity for devotional service?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today for devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayCreation Offers a Chance for LiberationThis 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 2.7.39? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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