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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
2.9.332.9.35

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.9.34

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

ऋतेऽर्थं यत् प्रतीयेत न प्रतीयेत चात्मनि ।

तद्विद्यादात्मनो मायां यथाभासो यथा तम: ॥ ३४ ॥

ṛte ’rthaṁ yat pratīyeta

na pratīyeta cātmani

tad vidyād ātmano māyāṁ

yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ

Translation

O Brahmā, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

See Everything in Relation to the Lord

  1. 1

    Nothing can exist without the Personality of Godhead. Accepting anything as independent of Him is a product of His illusory energy.

  2. 2

    Mistaking a rope for a snake is illusion, but the rope itself is not false. Similarly, the material manifestation is not false; seeing it as separate from the Lord’s energy is illusion.

  3. 3

    Relating everything to the Lord is called yoga-māyā, the energy of union. The living being always remains an individual person, and the claim “I am the Supreme” is another snare of illusion.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore the wrong conception of accepting this material manifestation as being divorced from the energy of the Lord is illusion, but it is not false.
  • Therefore the living energy represented by the living entities is the reflection of the Lord, and never the Lord Himself.
  • Being the reflection of the Lord, the existence of the living entity is dependent on the Supreme Lord, who is the original light.

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 2.9.34 quotesBG 2.12

In the Bhagavad-gītā (2.12) it was said by the Lord in the midst of the battlefield that the warriors standing in front of Arjuna, Arjuna himself, and even the Lord had all existed before, they were existing on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, and they would all continue to be individual personalities in the future also, even after the annihilation of…

The purport of SB 2.9.34 quotesBG 16.18

The Lord says in the Bhagavad-gītā (16.18-20) that demoniac persons who deny the existence of the Lord are thrown more and more into the darkness of ignorance, and thus such demoniac persons transmigrate life after life without any knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The purport of SB 2.9.34 quotesBG 10.8

budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ. The Lord is the original source of all emanations, and everything that is created, maintained and annihilated exists by the energy of the Lord.

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 22.31

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.9.34) it is stated:

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 25.119

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.9.34).

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. ṛtewithout
  2. arthamvalue
  3. yatthat which
  4. pratīyetaappears to be
  5. nanot
  6. pratīyetaappears to be
  7. caand
  8. ātmaniin relation to Me
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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: “illusion”, “material”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What do I tend to see as valuable without considering its relationship with the Lord?

Practice

Choose one thing you use today and pause to consider how you can use it in relation to the Lord rather than independently of 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 1 lecture. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 1 lecture

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 todaySee Everything in Relation to the LordOne of the 108 chosen lessons: a practice and a question from this verse

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 2.9.34? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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