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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
2.8.212.8.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.8.22

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Kingsince 2.8.2inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यो वानुशायिनां सर्ग: पाषण्डस्य च सम्भव: ।

आत्मनो बन्धमोक्षौ च व्यवस्थानं स्वरूपत: ॥ २२ ॥

yo vānuśāyināṁ sargaḥ

pāṣaṇḍasya ca sambhavaḥ

ātmano bandha-mokṣau ca

vyavasthānaṁ sva-rūpataḥ

Translation

Please also explain how, merged in the body of the Lord, living beings are created, and how the infidels appear in the world. Also please explain how the unconditioned living entities exist.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Preserve Identity in Loving Service

  1. 1

    There are ever-liberated, unconditioned living beings and ever-conditioned living beings. A progressive devotee should inquire about them from a bona fide spiritual master.

  2. 2

    Mental speculators desire to merge into the Lord’s existence. Devotees desire to keep their separate identities and constantly serve Him.

  3. 3

    Devotees who are not fully purified become conditioned again at the next creation for further purification. Conditioned souls become liberated through further progress in devotional service.

Key points from the purport
  • The progressive devotee of the Lord must inquire from the bona fide spiritual master how living entities merged in the body of the Lord again come back at the time of creation.
  • Of the ever-conditioned living beings, there are two divisions.
  • The devotees who are not fully purified, as well as the empiric philosophers, become conditioned again during the next creation for further purification.

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. yaḥall those
  2. vāeither
  3. anuśāyināmmerged into the body of the Lord
  4. sargaḥcreation
  5. pāṣaṇḍasyaof the infidels
  6. caand
  7. sambhavaḥappearance
  8. ātmanaḥof the living beings
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Visarga · Subcreation

    How do living beings and their worlds appear? · Subject 2 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 2.8

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotee”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 2.8

    In this verse: “inquire”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 2.8

    In this verse: “purified”

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 the desire to remain a servant of the Lord shape my understanding of liberation?

Practice

Write down one sincere question about liberation and devotional service to ask a bona fide spiritual master.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPreserve Identity in Loving ServiceThis 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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