1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 2 · The Cosmic Manifestation · 10 chapters

12345678910

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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
2.7.492.7.51

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.7.50

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

सोऽयं तेऽभिहितस्तात भगवान् विश्वभावन: ।

समासेन हरेर्नान्यदन्यस्मात् सदसच्च यत् ॥ ५० ॥

so ’yaṁ te ’bhihitas tāta

bhagavān viśva-bhāvanaḥ

samāsena harer nānyad

anyasmāt sad-asac ca yat

Translation

My dear son, I have now explained in brief the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is creator of the manifested worlds. Without Him (Hari, the Lord), there are no other causes of the phenomenal and noumenal existences.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hari Is the Cause of All Causes

  1. 1

    The temporary material world is the Lord’s external potency, and the conditioned souls are His marginal potency. Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the original cause of both.

  2. 2

    Everything rests on the Lord’s potencies, yet He remains aloof from their interactions. The potency and the possessor of potency are simultaneously one and different.

  3. 3

    The miserable material world is a temporary arrangement for those who have forgotten the Lord and seek to dominate it. He wants them to return to Him and offers opportunities through authoritative scriptures, His representatives and His incarnations.

Key points from the purport
  • There is no cause for all these phenomenal activities but Him, Hari, the Supreme Lord, who is the primeval cause of all causes.
  • Everything that is manifested rests on His potency only, but He, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always aloof from everything.
  • One should not deprecate the Supreme Lord for the creation of this miserable world, just as one should not blame the king for creating a prison-house in the government.

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 2.7.50 quotesBG 9.4

In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) it is confirmed that by His potencies alone He is present everywhere and anywhere.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 2.9.33

bhagavān viśva-bhāvanaḥ. There is no other cause of all causes than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥthat
  2. ayamthe same
  3. teunto you
  4. abhihitaḥexplained by me
  5. tātamy dear son
  6. bhagavānthe Personality of Godhead
  7. viśva-bhāvanaḥthe creator of the manifested worlds
  8. samāsenain brief
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

  • 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 can I respond to the Lord’s opportunities to return to Him rather than try to dominate His creation?

Practice

Read this verse’s translation once more, then identify one opportunity today to learn from authoritative scripture.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayHari Is the Cause of All CausesThis 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 2.7.50? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories