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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 3 · The Status Quo · 33 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 3 · Chapter 10: Divisions of the Creation
3.10.28-293.11.1

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.10.30

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 3.10.11inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

अत: परं प्रवक्ष्यामि वंशान्मन्वन्तराणि च ।

एवं रज:प्लुत: स्रष्टा कल्पादिष्वात्मभूर्हरि: ।

सृजत्यमोघसङ्कल्प आत्मैवात्मानमात्मना ॥ ३० ॥

ataḥ paraṁ pravakṣyāmi

vaṁśān manvantarāṇi ca

evaṁ rajaḥ-plutaḥ sraṣṭā

kalpādiṣv ātmabhūr hariḥ

sṛjaty amogha-saṅkalpa

ātmaivātmānam ātmanā

Translation

Now I shall describe the descendants of the Manus. The creator, Brahmā, as the incarnation of the passion mode of the Personality of Godhead, creates the universal affairs with unfailing desires in every millennium by the force of the Lord’s energy.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Creation Depends on the Supreme Lord’s Energy

  1. 1

    The speaker announces that the descendants of the Manus will be described next. Brahmā creates universal affairs in every millennium as the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead’s mode of passion.

  2. 2

    Brahmā’s creative desires are unfailing through the force of the Lord’s energy. His work depends on that energy.

  3. 3

    The cosmic manifestation expands from one of the many energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Both the creator and the created emanate from the same Supreme Truth.

Key points from the purport
  • The cosmic manifestation is an expansion of one of the many energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; the creator and the created are both emanations of the same Supreme Truth, as stated in the beginning of the Bhāgavatam: janmādy asya yataḥ.
  • Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Third Canto, Tenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Divisions of the Creation.”

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

Mystery → Cosmic wonder. The origin of the world is revealed through inquiry and divine grace.

Chapters 5–12 of Canto 3: Creation and Brahmā's bewilderment. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 10: Divisions of the Creation

Maitreya explains the divisions of creation and Brahmā’s preparation of planetary homes for living entities.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.10
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ataḥhere
  2. paramafter
  3. pravakṣyāmiI shall explain
  4. vaṁśāndescendants
  5. manvantarāṇidifferent advents of Manus
  6. caand
  7. evamthus
  8. rajaḥ-plutaḥinfused with the mode of passion
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

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 recognizing the Supreme Lord as the source change my view of the creator and the creation?

Practice

Pause today while looking at something in creation and remember that both the creator and the created come from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayCreation Depends on the Supreme Lord’s EnergyThis 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 3.10.30? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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