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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 14: Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening
3.14.493.14.51

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.14.50

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The learned Kaśyapasince 3.14.44-45inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

अन्तर्बहिश्चामलमब्जनेत्रं

स्वपूरुषेच्छानुगृहीतरूपम् ।

पौत्रस्तव श्रीललनाललामं

द्रष्टा स्फुरत्कुण्डलमण्डिताननम् ॥ ५० ॥

antar bahiś cāmalam abja-netraṁ

sva-pūruṣecchānugṛhīta-rūpam

pautras tava śrī-lalanā-lalāmaṁ

draṣṭā sphurat-kuṇḍala-maṇḍitānanam

Translation

Your grandson will be able to see, inside and outside, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose wife is the beautiful goddess of fortune. The Lord can assume the form desired by the devotee, and His face is always beautifully decorated with earrings.

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 Reveals His Eternal Form

  1. 1

    Prahlāda Mahārāja would see the Supreme Personality of Godhead both within himself through meditation and personally with his eyes. Such direct vision requires highly elevated Kṛṣṇa consciousness, not merely material sight.

  2. 2

    The Lord has many eternal forms, including Kṛṣṇa, Rāma and Nṛsiṁha. A pure devotee becomes attached to one of these forms, and the Lord is pleased to appear in that form.

  3. 3

    The devotee does not invent a whimsical form or consider the Lord impersonal. He sees the Lord beautifully decorated and accompanied by the eternally beautiful goddess of fortune.

Key points from the purport
  • A pure devotee becomes attached to one of the eternal forms of the Lord, and the Lord is pleased to appear before him in the form desired.
  • A devotee does not imagine something whimsical about the form of the Lord, nor does he ever think that the Lord is impersonal and can assume a form desired by the nondevotee.
  • But whenever a devotee sees the Lord, he sees Him in a most beautifully decorated form, accompanied by His constant companion the goddess of fortune, who is eternally beautiful.

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 14: Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening

Diti desires sons, her husband performs a forbidden act, and their sons’ destruction by the Lord is foretold.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.14
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. antaḥwithin
  2. bahiḥwithout
  3. caalso
  4. amalamspotless
  5. abja-netramlotus eyes
  6. sva-pūruṣaown devotee
  7. icchā-anugṛhīta-rūpamaccepting form according to desire
  8. pautraḥgrandchild
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “attached”, “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “devotee”

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 can I keep my understanding of the Lord’s form grounded in the description given here?

Practice

Reread the translation and spend a minute remembering the Lord’s beautifully decorated face.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

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

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 3.14's connections

Live this todayThe Lord Reveals His Eternal FormThis 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 3.14.50? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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