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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

2.7.48 2.7.50

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.7.49

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

स श्रेयसामपि विभुर्भगवान् यतोऽस्य

भावस्वभावविहितस्य सत: प्रसिद्धि: ।

देहे स्वधातुविगमेऽनुविशीर्यमाणे

व्योमेव तत्र पुरुषो न विशीर्यतेऽज: ॥ ४९ ॥

sa śreyasām api vibhur bhagavān yato ’sya

bhāva-svabhāva-vihitasya sataḥ prasiddhiḥ

dehe sva-dhātu-vigame ’nuviśīryamāṇe

vyomeva tatra puruṣo na viśīryate ’jaḥ

Translation

The Personality of Godhead is the supreme master of everything auspicious because the results of whatever actions are performed by the living being, in either the material or spiritual existence, are awarded by the Lord. As such, He is the ultimate benefactor. Every individual living entity is unborn, and therefore even after the annihilation of the material elementary body, the living entity exists, exactly like the air within the body.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Eternal Soul’s Goal Is Loving Association

1
The living entity is unborn and eternal, continuing to exist after the material body is destroyed. The Lord, the ultimate benefactor, awards the results of material and spiritual actions according to one’s choices.
2
Devotees desire to become the Lord’s associates rather than merge into His existence. Through natural devotional practices such as hearing and chanting, they attain a perfection far superior to merging into Brahman.
3
The Lord awards a spiritual body suitable for association with Him. If a devotee’s purification remains incomplete, He kindly gives another opportunity in a later life to complete devotional service.

Key points from the purport

The living entity is unborn and eternal, and as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.30), the living entity is not exhausted even though the material elementary body is vanquished.
As long as the living entity is in material existence, actions performed by him are rewarded in the next life, or even in the present life.
The evolution of the material body is due to the desires of the living being.

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· 2

The purport of SB 2.7.49 quotesBG 2.30

The living entity is unborn and eternal, and as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.30), the living entity is not exhausted even though the material elementary body is vanquished.

The purport of SB 2.7.49 quotesBG 4.11

It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.11) that the Lord awards similar results, as one desires, in one’s present life.

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

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

saḥHe
śreyasāmall auspiciousness
apialso
vibhuḥthe master
bhagavānthe Personality of Godhead
yataḥbecause
asyaof the living entity
bhāvanatural modes

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
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.7
In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotees”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.7
In this verse: “material”
Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting
Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 2.7
In this verse: “chanting”, “hearing”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What kind of spiritual goal am I nurturing through my choices today?

Practice

Set aside five minutes to hear about the Lord, seeking loving association with Him rather than a material reward.

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Eternal Soul’s Goal Is Loving AssociationThis 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 2.7.49? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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