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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

2.7.5 2.7.7

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.7.6

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

धर्मस्य दक्षदुहितर्यजनिष्ट मूर्त्यां

नारायणो नर इति स्वतप:प्रभाव: ।

दृष्ट्वात्मनो भगवतो नियमावलोपं

देव्यस्त्वनङ्गपृतना घटितुं न शेकु: ॥ ६ ॥

dharmasya dakṣa-duhitary ajaniṣṭa mūrtyāṁ

nārāyaṇo nara iti sva-tapaḥ-prabhāvaḥ

dṛṣṭvātmano bhagavato niyamāvalopaṁ

devyas tv anaṅga-pṛtanā ghaṭituṁ na śekuḥ

Translation

To exhibit His personal way of austerity and penance, He appeared in twin forms as Nārāyaṇa and Nara in the womb of Mūrti, the wife of Dharma and the daughter of Dakṣa. Celestial beauties, the companions of Cupid, went to try to break His vows, but they were unsuccessful, for they saw that many beauties like them were emanating from Him, the Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Teaches Austerity for Self-Realization

1
The Lord appeared as Nārāyaṇa and Nara to exhibit His personal austerity and penance. Being the source of everything, He is also the origin of all austerities.
2
Human life is meant for tapasya, or disciplined austerity, for self-realization. The purport stresses celibacy and warns that sexual attraction and desires for possessions can impede this aim.
3
The celestial beauties could not break the Lord’s vows, for innumerable beauties emanated from His own potency. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s activities should therefore not be mistaken for attraction to material beauty.

Key points from the purport

During the first stage of life, up to twenty-five years of age, a man may be trained as a brahmacārī under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master just to understand that woman is the real binding force in material existence.
The brahmacārī is then allowed to go home and enter householder life and get married to a suitable woman.
Studying the whole scheme of disassociation from women, it appears that a woman is a stumbling block for self-realization, and the Lord appeared as Nārāyaṇa to teach the principle of womanly disassociation with a vow in life.

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

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.

dharmasyaof Dharma (the controller of religious principles)
dakṣaDakṣa, one of the Prajāpatis
duhitariunto the daughter
ajaniṣṭatook birth
mūrtyāmof the name Mūrti
nārāyaṇaḥNārāyaṇa
naraḥNara
itithus

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
Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct
Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 2.7
In this verse: “dharma”
Sakhya · Sacred friendship
The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 2.7
In this verse: “companions”
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.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which desire for enjoyment or possessions most distracts me from self-realization?

Practice

Set aside one unnecessary pleasure today and use that moment to reflect on self-realization.

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 2.7's connections

Live this todayThe Lord Teaches Austerity for Self-RealizationThis 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 2.7.6? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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