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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 20: Conversation Between Maitreya and Vidura
3.20.143.20.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.20.15

Sarga· Creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 3.20.12inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

सोऽशयिष्टाब्धिसलिले आण्डकोशो निरात्मक: ।

साग्रं वै वर्षसाहस्रमन्ववात्सीत्तमीश्वर: ॥ १५ ॥

so ’śayiṣṭābdhi-salile

āṇḍakośo nirātmakaḥ

sāgraṁ vai varṣa-sāhasram

anvavātsīt tam īśvaraḥ

Translation

For over one thousand years the shiny egg lay on the waters of the Causal Ocean in the lifeless state. Then the Lord entered it as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Enters the Cosmic Egg

  1. 1

    The shiny egg lay lifeless on the waters of the Causal Ocean for over one thousand years.

  2. 2

    The Lord then entered it as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.

  3. 3

    Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that this verse indicates that all the universes float in the Causal Ocean.

Key points from the purport
  • From this verse it appears that all the universes are floating in the Causal Ocean.

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

Longing and service → Preparedness. Family devotion turns toward higher spiritual fulfillment.

Chapters 20–24 of Canto 3: Kardama, Devahūti, family and renunciation. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 20: Conversation Between Maitreya and Vidura

Questions about Manu lead to further accounts of Brahmā’s creation of demigods, demons, and other beings.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.20
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥit
  2. aśayiṣṭalay
  3. abdhi-salileon the waters of the Causal Ocean
  4. āṇḍa-kośaḥegg
  5. nirātmakaḥin an unconscious state
  6. sāgrama little more than
  7. vaiin fact
  8. varṣa-sāhasrama thousand years
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sarga · The creation of the universe

    Where does the universe come from? · Subject 1 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

What stands out to me about the lifeless egg and the Lord’s entrance into it?

Practice

Spend a minute recalling the sequence: the egg rests in the Causal Ocean, and then Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu enters it.

Live this todayThe Lord Enters the Cosmic EggThis 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.

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