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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
2.7.512.7.53

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.7.52

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
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

यथा हरौ भगवति नृणां भक्तिर्भविष्यति ।

सर्वात्मन्यखिलाधारे इति सङ्कल्प्य वर्णय ॥ ५२ ॥

yathā harau bhagavati

nṛṇāṁ bhaktir bhaviṣyati

sarvātmany akhilādhāre

iti saṅkalpya varṇaya

Translation

Please describe the science of Godhead with determination and in a manner by which it will be quite possible for the human being to develop transcendental devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead Hari, the Supersoul of every living being and the summum bonum source of all energies.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Relationship Brings Complete Happiness

  1. 1

    Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains devotional service and our relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Like a torchlight, it helps people who have forgotten that relationship see life’s true goal.

  2. 2

    A sincere student can understand the science of God by attentive reading or regular hearing from a bona fide speaker. The Lord is the reservoir of all happiness because He is the ultimate source of everything.

  3. 3

    Complete happiness and freedom from distressful material existence come through a devotional relationship with the Lord. Nārada is instructed to present this science with determination and a serious spirit of service, not to earn a livelihood.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the philosophy of devotional service and the scientific presentation of man’s relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Therefore man became blind, so to speak, to his ultimate goal of life.
  • Everyone is hankering after happiness in life, but in this age the members of human society, blind as they are, do not have the proper vision that the Personality of Godhead is the reservoir of all happiness because He is the ultimate source of everything (janmādy asya yataḥ).

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yathāas much as
  2. harauunto the Personality of Godhead
  3. bhagavatiunto the Lord
  4. nṛṇāmfor human beings
  5. bhaktiḥdevotional service
  6. bhaviṣyatibecome enlightened
  7. sarva-ātmanithe Absolute Whole
  8. akhila-ādhāreunto the summum bonum
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “understand”

  • 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 my search for happiness change if I focused on my relationship with the Lord?

Practice

Read this verse and purport attentively for five minutes, looking for how they encourage devotional service.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Relationship Brings Complete HappinessThis 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 2.7.52? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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