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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 9: Answers by Citing the Lord’s Version

2.8.29 2.9.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.9.1

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 2.9.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीशुक उवाच

आत्ममायामृते राजन् परस्यानुभवात्मन: ।

न घटेतार्थसम्बन्ध: स्वप्नद्रष्टुरिवाञ्जसा ॥ १ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca

ātma-māyām ṛte rājan

parasyānubhavātmanaḥ

na ghaṭetārtha-sambandhaḥ

svapna-draṣṭur ivāñjasā

Translation

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, unless one is influenced by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no meaning to the relationship of the pure soul in pure consciousness with the material body. That relationship is just like a dreamer’s seeing his own body working.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Our True Identity Is Loving Service

1
The spirit soul is distinct from the material body and mind. Under the Lord’s external energy, called ātma-māyā, the soul becomes absorbed in a material conception of life, like a dreamer.
2
The Lord wishes every living entity to engage in His loving service. Because the living entity has partial independence, he may instead desire to become as independent as the Lord.
3
The dream of “I” and “mine” continues while we forget our identity as subordinate parts and parcels of the Lord. In pure consciousness, we know that we are never the Lord but His eternal servants in transcendental love.

Key points from the purport

Therefore, although the living entity is purely conscious in his pure state, he is subordinate to the will of the Lord in being influenced by the external energy of the Lord.
Therefore the first sinful will of the living entity is to become the Lord, and the consequent will of the Lord is that the living entity forget his factual life and thus dream of the land of utopia where he may become one like the Lord.
In his pure consciousness, however, there is no such misconceived dream, and in that pure conscious state the living entity does not forget that he is never the Lord, but that he is eternally the servitor of the Lord in transcendental love.

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· 1

The purport of SB 2.9.1 quotesBG 15.15

In the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) also the same thing is confirmed: the Lord is present within the heart of every living entity, and all the living entity’s consciousness and forgetfulness are influenced by the Lord.

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

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

Chapter 9: Answers by Citing the Lord’s Version

The Lord receives Brahmā, explains His eternal existence, and instructs him to remain fixed and free from pride.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.9

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

śrī-śukaḥ uvācaŚrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
ātmathe Supreme Personality of Godhead
māyāmenergy
ṛtewithout
rājanO King
parasyaof the pure soul
anubhava-ātmanaḥof the purely conscious
nanever

Key ideas in this verse

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

Mukti · Liberation
What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.9
In this verse: “material”
Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership
Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 2.9
In this verse: “king”
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 2.9
In this verse: “spirit soul”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

When do I mistake my body or possessions for my true identity?

Practice

Pause once today when you think “mine,” and remind yourself: “I am an eternal servant of the Lord.”

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

7 lectures given on it · quoted in 3 more lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Show 5 more lectures on it

Quoted in 3 other lectures

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayOur True Identity Is 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.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 2.9.1? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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