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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 13: The Appearance of Lord Varāha
3.13.453.13.47

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.13.46

Sthāna· The universe in order
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 3.13.46inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

मैत्रेय उवाच

इत्युपस्थीयमानोऽसौ मुनिभिर्ब्रह्मवादिभि: ।

सलिले स्वखुराक्रान्त उपाधत्तावितावनिम् ॥ ४६ ॥

maitreya uvāca

ity upasthīyamāno ’sau

munibhir brahma-vādibhiḥ

salile sva-khurākrānta

upādhattāvitāvanim

Translation

The sage Maitreya said: The Lord, being thus worshiped by all the great sages and transcendentalists, touched the earth with His hooves and placed it on the water.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Sustains Through Inconceivable Potency

  1. 1

    Worshiped by the sages and transcendentalists, the Lord touched the earth with His hooves and placed it on the water.

  2. 2

    The all-powerful Lord can sustain huge planets on water or in the air as He wishes. He placed the earth on the water by His inconceivable potency.

  3. 3

    The tiny human brain cannot fully conceive how the Lord’s potencies act. Vague or imaginary explanations do not capture His inconceivable activities.

Key points from the purport
  • The earth was placed on the water by His inconceivable potency.
  • The Lord is all-powerful, and therefore He can sustain the huge planets either on the water or in the air, as He likes.
  • Man can give some vague explanation of the laws by which such phenomena are made possible, but actually the tiny human brain is unable to conceive of the activities of the Lord, which are therefore called inconceivable.

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

Threat and anger → Rescue and wonder. Divine protection appears amid cosmic confrontation.

Chapters 13–19 of Canto 3: Varāha, Jaya and Vijaya, Hiraṇyākṣa. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 13: The Appearance of Lord Varāha

Lord Varāha appears from Brahmā’s nose, lifts the submerged earth, and receives the sages’ prayers.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.13
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. maitreyaḥ uvācathe sage Maitreya said
  2. itithus
  3. upasthīyamānaḥbeing praised by
  4. asauLord Boar
  5. munibhiḥby the great sages
  6. brahma-vādibhiḥby the transcendentalists
  7. salileon the water
  8. sva-khura-ākrāntetouched by His own hooves
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sthāna · Planetary systems

    How is the universe arranged, and what is our right place in it? · Subject 3 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.13

    In this verse: “worshiped”

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

Can I acknowledge the limits of my understanding while honoring the Lord’s power?

Practice

Spend one quiet minute remembering the Lord as the sustainer of the earth, without trying to explain away His inconceivable potency.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Sustains Through Inconceivable PotencyThis 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 3.13.46? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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