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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
3.20.83.20.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.20.9

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vidurasince 3.20.9inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

विदुर उवाच

प्रजापतिपति: सृष्ट्वा प्रजासर्गे प्रजापतीन् ।

किमारभत मे ब्रह्मन् प्रब्रूह्यव्यक्तमार्गवित् ॥ ९ ॥

vidura uvāca

prajāpati-patiḥ sṛṣṭvā

prajā-sarge prajāpatīn

kim ārabhata me brahman

prabrūhy avyakta-mārga-vit

Translation

Vidura said: Since you know of matters inconceivable to us, tell me, O holy sage, what did Brahmā do to create living beings after evolving the Prajāpatis, the progenitors of living beings?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Learn Beyond Perception Through Genuine Authority

  1. 1

    Vidura asks the holy sage what Brahmā did to create living beings after creating the Prajāpatis. He recognizes that the sage knows matters beyond his own perception.

  2. 2

    To understand what lies beyond our perception, we must learn from an authority who actually knows. The purport gives the example of learning our father’s identity from our mother.

  3. 3

    Brahmā is the first authority in this disciplic succession, followed by Nārada. Maitreya belongs to that genuine succession and can therefore teach what ordinary perception cannot reach.

Key points from the purport
  • Significant here is the word avyakta-mārga-vit, “one who knows that which is beyond our perception.”
  • To know matters beyond one’s perception, one has to learn from a superior authority in the line of disciplic succession.
  • Anyone in the bona fide line of disciplic succession is avyakta-mārga-vit, a personality who knows that which is beyond ordinary perception.

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. viduraḥ uvācaVidura said
  2. prajāpati-patiḥLord Brahmā
  3. sṛṣṭvāafter creating
  4. prajā-sargefor the purpose of creating living beings
  5. prajāpatīnthe Prajāpatis
  6. kimwhat
  7. ārabhatastarted
  8. meto me
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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 3.20

    In this verse: “mother”, “father’s”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.20

    In this verse: “understand”

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 do I decide whom to trust about spiritual matters beyond my direct perception?

Practice

Write down one spiritual question you cannot answer through observation alone, and seek its explanation from the genuine disciplic succession.

Live this todayLearn Beyond Perception Through Genuine AuthorityThis 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 3.20.9? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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