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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 8: Questions by King Parīkṣit
2.8.142.8.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.8.15

Sthāna· The universe in order
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Kingsince 2.8.2inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

भूपातालककुब्व्योमग्रहनक्षत्रभूभृताम् ।

सरित्समुद्रद्वीपानां सम्भवश्चैतदोकसाम् ॥ १५ ॥

bhū-pātāla-kakub-vyoma-

graha-nakṣatra-bhūbhṛtām

sarit-samudra-dvīpānāṁ

sambhavaś caitad-okasām

Translation

O best of the brāhmaṇas, please also describe how the creation of the globes throughout the universe, the four directions of the heavens, the sky, the planets, the stars, the mountains, the rivers, the seas and the islands, as well as their different kinds of inhabitants, takes place.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Creation Has a Purposeful Arrangement

  1. 1

    Living beings in the land, water and sky are differently situated. The inhabitants of different planets and stars also differ from one another.

  2. 2

    By the laws of the Lord, no place is vacant. Living beings are situated according to different qualities of the modes of nature.

  3. 3

    Nature’s adjustment is not blind; a great plan stands behind the arrangement. Mahārāja Parīkṣit asks Śukadeva Gosvāmī for an authoritative explanation.

Key points from the purport
  • The inhabitants of different varieties of land, etc., are differently situated, and not all of them are equal in all respects.
  • The inhabitants of the land are different from the inhabitants of the water or the sky, and similarly the inhabitants of the different planets and stars in the sky are also different from one another.
  • Even in human society the inhabitants of the jungles or the deserts are different from those of the cities and villages.

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

Inquiry → Conviction. Divine knowledge resolves fundamental cosmic uncertainty.

Chapters 8–10 of Canto 2: Parīkṣit questions; Brahmā receives revelation. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 8: Questions by King Parīkṣit

Parīkṣit requests further hearing about Kṛṣṇa and asks questions about creation, time, duty, and devotional service.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.8
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. bhū-pātālaunderneath the land
  2. kakupthe four sides of the heavens
  3. vyomathe sky
  4. grahathe planets
  5. nakṣatrathe stars
  6. bhūbhṛtāmof the hills
  7. saritthe river
  8. samudrathe sea
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sthāna · Planetary systems

    How is the universe arranged, and what is our right place in it? · Subject 3 of 10

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 does this description encourage me to seek a deeper understanding of nature’s arrangements?

Practice

Observe two different habitats today and reflect on how their inhabitants are differently situated.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayCreation Has a Purposeful ArrangementThis 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.

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