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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
3.20.153.20.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.20.16

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

तस्य नाभेरभूत्पद्मं सहस्रार्कोरुदीधिति ।

सर्वजीवनिकायौको यत्र स्वयमभूत्स्वराट् ॥ १६ ॥

tasya nābher abhūt padmaṁ

sahasrārkoru-dīdhiti

sarva-jīvanikāyauko

yatra svayam abhūt svarāṭ

Translation

From the navel of the Personality of Godhead Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu sprouted a lotus flower effulgent like a thousand blazing suns. This lotus flower is the reservoir of all conditioned souls, and the first living entity who came out of the lotus flower was the omnipotent Brahmā

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Living Entities Share the Lord’s Spiritual Quality

  1. 1

    A lotus as brilliant as a thousand suns sprouted from Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu’s navel. The conditioned souls who had rested within the Lord after dissolution emerged in this collective form, called hiraṇyagarbha.

  2. 2

    Brahmā was the first living entity to emerge from the lotus. He was able to create the rest of the manifested universe.

  3. 3

    The lotus’s brilliance indicates that living entities, as parts and parcels of the Lord, share His quality. In Vaikuṇṭha, every planet is self-effulgent, with no need of sunshine, moonshine, electricity or fire.

Key points from the purport
  • It appears from this verse that the conditioned souls who rested within the body of the Personality of Godhead after the dissolution of the last creation came out in the sum total form of the lotus.
  • The first living entity to come out was Lord Brahmā, who is independently able to create the rest of the manifested universe.
  • The lotus is described here as effulgent as the glare of a thousand suns.

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. tasyaof the Lord
  2. nābheḥfrom the navel
  3. abhūtsprouted up
  4. padmama lotus
  5. sahasra-arkaa thousand suns
  6. urumore
  7. dīdhitiwith dazzling splendor
  8. sarvaall
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

How does being a part and parcel of the Supreme Lord shape my understanding of myself?

Practice

Reflect for one minute on this teaching: the living entities are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord.

Live this todayLiving Entities Share the Lord’s Spiritual QualityThis 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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