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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 9: Answers by Citing the Lord’s Version
2.9.322.9.34

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.9.33

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Personality of Godheadsince 2.9.31inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitThe Supreme Lord → Lord Brahmā

अहमेवासमेवाग्रे नान्यद् यत् सदसत् परम् ।

पश्चादहं यदेतच्च योऽवशिष्येत सोऽस्म्यहम् ॥ ३३ ॥

aham evāsam evāgre

nānyad yat sad-asat param

paścād ahaṁ yad etac ca

yo ’vaśiṣyeta so ’smy aham

Translation

Brahmā, it is I, the Personality of Godhead, who was existing before the creation, when there was nothing but Myself. Nor was there the material nature, the cause of this creation. That which you see now is also I, the Personality of Godhead, and after annihilation what remains will also be I, the Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Supreme Person Exists Eternally

  1. 1

    The Personality of Godhead existed before creation, maintains the creation and remains after its annihilation. His eternal form exists through all these changes.

  2. 2

    The Lord and the living beings are alike in being eternal and conscious, but their positions are different. The Lord is the supreme maintainer, while the living beings depend on Him.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s kingdom is not empty or impersonal; the Vaikuṇṭha planets contain transcendental variety. They are not destroyed when the material universe is annihilated.

Key points from the purport
  • We should note very carefully that the Personality of Godhead is addressing Lord Brahmā and specifying with great emphasis Himself, pointing out that it is He, the Personality of Godhead, who existed before the creation, it is He only who maintains the creation, and it is He only who remains after the annihilation of the creation.
  • Brahmā is also a creation of the Supreme Lord.
  • Therefore the Personality of Godhead exists before the creation, and He exists with all transcendental variegatedness in the Vaikuṇṭhalokas.

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· 5

The purport of SB 2.9.33 quotesSB 2.8.10

For example, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.8.10), Mahārāja Parīkṣit asks: “How does the Personality of Godhead, the cause of creation, maintenance and annihilation, who is always freed from the influence of the illusory energy and is the controller of the same, lie in everyone’s heart?”

The purport of SB 2.9.33 quotesSB 3.7.37

ka u svid anuśerate. Śrīdhara Svāmī explains this in his notes: “During the annihilation of the creation, who serves the Lord lying on the Śeṣa, etc.” This means that the transcendental Lord with all His name, fame, quality and paraphernalia exists eternally.

The purport of SB 2.9.33 quotesBG 15.18

In the Bhagavad-gītā (15.18) it is said that Lord Kṛṣṇa is Puruṣottama because He is the supreme puruṣa, transcendental even to the puruṣa-akṣara and the puruṣa-kṣara.

The purport of SB 2.9.33 quotesBG 14.27

This Personality of Godhead is very emphatically explained in the Bhagavad-gītā in connection with the verse brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham.

The purport of SB 2.9.33 quotesSB 2.7.50

bhagavān viśva-bhāvanaḥ. There is no other cause of all causes than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari.

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

Further reading

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ahamI, the Personality of Godhead
  2. evacertainly
  3. āsamexisted
  4. evaonly
  5. agrebefore the creation
  6. nanever
  7. anyatanything else
  8. yatall those
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 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: “kingdom”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does remembering that I depend on the eternal Supreme Person change my view of myself?

Practice

Pause once today to remember the Lord as your maintainer and thank Him for your dependence on Him.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

Quoted in 7 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 7 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.

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Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 2.8.10SB 3.7.37SB 2.7.50

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 2.9's connections

Live this todayThe Supreme Person Exists EternallyThis 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 2.9.33? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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