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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

2.9.38 2.9.40

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.9.39

Visarga· Brahmā's creation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 2.9.38inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अन्तर्हितेन्द्रियार्थाय हरये विहिताञ्जलि: ।

सर्वभूतमयो विश्वं ससर्जेदं स पूर्ववत् ॥ ३९ ॥

antarhitendriyārthāya

haraye vihitāñjaliḥ

sarva-bhūtamayo viśvaṁ

sasarjedaṁ sa pūrvavat

Translation

On the disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, who is the object of transcendental enjoyment for the senses of devotees, Brahmā, with folded hands, began to re-create the universe, full with living entities, as it was previously.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Engage the Senses in the Lord’s Service

1
The senses were given for transcendental loving service to the Lord and His devotees. Material illusion turns them toward sense enjoyment instead.
2
Liberation does not mean uprooting the senses, but curing their misdirected activities. We can see the Lord’s beauty, hear His glories and act on His account.
3
Brahmā served the Lord by re-creating the universe. The creation gives conditioned souls an opportunity to return home, back to Godhead.

Key points from the purport

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is the object for fulfilling the senses of all living entities.
Originally the senses of the living entity were awarded for this purpose, namely to engage them in the transcendental loving service of the Lord or that of His devotees, but the conditioned souls, illusioned by the material energy, became captivated by sense enjoyment.
Lord Brahmā thus engaged his senses in the Lord by re-creating the conditioned living entities to act in the re-created universe.

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

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.

antarhitaon the disappearance
indriya-arthāyaunto the Personality of Godhead, the objective of all senses
harayeunto the Lord
vihita-añjaliḥin folded hands
sarva-bhūtaall living entities
mayaḥfull of
viśvamthe universe
sasarjacreated

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 2.9
In this verse: “devotees”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.9
In this verse: “illusion”, “material”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which of my senses could I engage more deliberately in the Lord’s service?

Practice

Use your tongue today to read aloud a short passage glorifying the Lord from this purport.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayEngage the Senses in the Lord’s 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 2.9.39? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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