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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.
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Canto 2 · Chapter 7: Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions
2.7.412.7.43-45

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.7.42

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

येषां स एष भगवान् दययेदनन्त:

सर्वात्मनाश्रितपदो यदि निर्व्यलीकम् ।

ते दुस्तरामतितरन्ति च देवमायां

नैषां ममाहमिति धी: श्वश‍ृगालभक्ष्ये ॥ ४२ ॥

yeṣāṁ sa eṣa bhagavān dayayed anantaḥ

sarvātmanāśrita-pado yadi nirvyalīkam

te dustarām atitaranti ca deva-māyāṁ

naiṣāṁ mamāham iti dhīḥ śva-śṛgāla-bhakṣye

Translation

But anyone who is specifically favored by the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, due to unalloyed surrender unto the service of the Lord, can overcome the insurmountable ocean of illusion and can understand the Lord. But those who are attached to this body, which is meant to be eaten at the end by dogs and jackals, cannot do so.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Sincere Surrender Opens Understanding of God

  1. 1

    Through unalloyed surrender to the Lord’s service, a devotee receives His mercy. By that mercy, one can cross the ocean of illusion and understand Him.

  2. 2

    Unalloyed devotees understand the Lord’s greatness and the greatness of His diverse energies. Attachment to the perishable body obstructs this understanding.

  3. 3

    Identifying the material body as the self keeps even extensive welfare work within a mistaken conception. Material advancement without knowledge of God cannot fulfill life’s purpose.

Key points from the purport
  • The unalloyed devotees of the Lord know the glories of the Lord in the sense that they can understand how great the Lord is and how great is His expansion of diverse energy.
  • Those who are attached to the perishable body can hardly enter into the realm of the science of Godhead.
  • Unless, therefore, one is saved from the wrong conception of the body and the soul, there is no knowledge of Godhead, and unless there is knowledge of God, all advancement of material civilization, however dazzling, should be considered a failure.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yeṣāmunto those only
  2. saḥthe Lord
  3. eṣaḥthe
  4. bhagavānthe Personality of Godhead
  5. dayayetdoes bestow His mercy
  6. anantaḥthe unlimited potency
  7. sarva-ātmanāby all means, without reservation
  8. āśrita-padaḥsurrendered soul
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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: “attached”, “illusion”, “attachment”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 2.7

    In this verse: “favored”, “mercy”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “understand”, “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

Where does identifying yourself with your body distract you from serving the Lord?

Practice

Before one act of service today, pause and ask the Lord for help to serve sincerely, without pretension.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySincere Surrender Opens Understanding of GodThis 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.

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