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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 21: Conversation Between Manu and Kardama
3.21.183.21.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.21.19

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The great sage Kardamasince 3.21.13inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

एक: स्वयं सञ्जगत: सिसृक्षया-

द्वितीययात्मन्नधियोगमायया ।

सृजस्यद: पासि पुनर्ग्रसिष्यसे

यथोर्णनाभिर्भगवन् स्वशक्तिभि: ॥ १९ ॥

ekaḥ svayaṁ sañ jagataḥ sisṛkṣayā-

dvitīyayātmann adhi-yogamāyayā

sṛjasy adaḥ pāsi punar grasiṣyase

yathorṇa-nābhir bhagavan sva-śaktibhiḥ

Translation

My dear Lord, You alone create the universes. O Personality of Godhead, desiring to create these universes, You create them, maintain them and again wind them up by Your own energies, which are under the control of Your second energy, called yoga-māyā, just as a spider creates a cobweb by its own energy and again winds it up.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Creator Remains a Person

  1. 1

    The Personality of Godhead alone creates, maintains and winds up the universes through His energies. Having various energies does not make Him impersonal.

  2. 2

    A spider produces a cobweb and later withdraws it, yet remains an individual. Similarly, the Lord remains a person when He manifests His energies.

  3. 3

    The Lord is conscious: He hears prayers and can fulfill His devotee’s desires. He is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, the form of bliss, knowledge and eternity.

Key points from the purport
  • Here Kardama says, “O Personality of Godhead, You are alone, but You have various energies.”
  • The spider is an individual living entity, and by its energy it creates a cobweb and plays on it, and whenever it likes it winds up the cobweb, thus ending the play.
  • When the cobweb is manufactured by the saliva of the spider, the spider does not become impersonal.

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 21: Conversation Between Manu and Kardama

Kardama performs penance, receives the Lord’s blessings, and welcomes Manu, who travels with his wife and daughter.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.21
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ekaḥone
  2. svayamYourself
  3. sanbeing
  4. jagataḥthe universes
  5. sisṛkṣayāwith a desire to create
  6. advitīyayāwithout a second
  7. ātmanin Yourself
  8. adhicontrolling
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.21

    In this verse: “devotee’s”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.21

    In this verse: “knowledge”

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 knowing that the Lord hears prayers affect the way I approach Him?

Practice

Offer a short, personal prayer to the Lord, remembering that He can hear you.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Creator Remains a PersonThis 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 3.21.19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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