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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
2.7.462.7.48

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.7.47

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

शश्वत् प्रशान्तमभयं प्रतिबोधमात्रं

शुद्धं समं सदसत: परमात्मतत्त्वम् ।

शब्दो न यत्र पुरुकारकवान् क्रियार्थो

माया परैत्यभिमुखे च विलज्जमाना

तद् वै पदं भगवत: परमस्य पुंसो

ब्रह्मेति यद् विदुरजस्रसुखं विशोकम् ॥ ४७ ॥

śaśvat praśāntam abhayaṁ pratibodha-mātraṁ

śuddhaṁ samaṁ sad-asataḥ paramātma-tattvam

śabdo na yatra puru-kārakavān kriyārtho

māyā paraity abhimukhe ca vilajjamānā

tad vai padaṁ bhagavataḥ paramasya puṁso

brahmeti yad vidur ajasra-sukhaṁ viśokam

Translation

What is realized as the Absolute Brahman is full of unlimited bliss without grief. That is certainly the ultimate phase of the supreme enjoyer, the Personality of Godhead. He is eternally void of all disturbances and is fearless. He is complete consciousness as opposed to matter. Uncontaminated and without distinctions, He is the principle primeval cause of all causes and effects, in whom there is no sacrifice for fruitive activities and in whom the illusory energy does not stand.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Lasting Happiness in Relationship With the Lord

  1. 1

    Impersonal Brahman realization is the first step, not the complete realization. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the source of the Brahman light; the Absolute is understood as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān.

  2. 2

    In liberation, full affection for the Lord awakens. Because this relationship is never broken, its happiness is free from grief and fear.

  3. 3

    Neither the Lord nor liberated devotees lack senses; their senses are free from material contamination. The senses find their proper purpose in satisfying the Supreme Lord, with spiritual happiness shared in that loving exchange.

Key points from the purport
  • The conception of impersonal Brahman realization is the first step, due to His distinction from the illusory conception of material existence.
  • Therefore, meeting the Personality of Godhead includes the realization of the impersonal Brahman as realized at first in contrast with material illusion.
  • And one should understand it without denying the spiritual senses because of a material conception.

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 22.32

There is also another appropriate verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.7.47):

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. śaśvateternal
  2. praśāntamwithout disturbance
  3. abhayamwithout fear
  4. pratibodha-mātrama consciousness opposed to the material counterpart
  5. śuddhamuncontaminated
  6. samamwithout distinction
  7. sat-asataḥof the cause and effect
  8. paramātma-tattvamthe principle of primeval cause
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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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 2.7

    In this verse: “fearless”, “fear”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotees”

  • 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 might using your senses to satisfy the Lord differ from using them only for yourself?

Practice

Use your voice today to read this translation aloud with the intention of satisfying the Supreme Lord.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayLasting Happiness in Relationship With the LordThis 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 2.7.47? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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