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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 22: The Marriage of Kardama Muni and Devahūti
3.22.193.22.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.22.20

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The great sagesince 3.22.15inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

यतोऽभवद्विश्वमिदं विचित्रं

संस्थास्यते यत्र च वावतिष्ठते ।

प्रजापतीनां पतिरेष मह्यं

परं प्रमाणं भगवाननन्त: ॥ २० ॥

yato ’bhavad viśvam idaṁ vicitraṁ

saṁsthāsyate yatra ca vāvatiṣṭhate

prajāpatīnāṁ patir eṣa mahyaṁ

paraṁ pramāṇaṁ bhagavān anantaḥ

Translation

The highest authority for me is the unlimited Supreme Personality of Godhead, from whom this wonderful creation emanates and in whom its sustenance and dissolution rest. He is the origin of all Prajāpatis, the personalities meant to produce living entities in this world.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Supreme Lord Is Our Highest Authority

  1. 1

    Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the origin, maintainer and final resting place of creation. Only He can fulfill the innumerable needs of all living entities.

  2. 2

    Kardama Muni accepted whatever Viṣṇu desired as his duty. He intended to beget a child only to help the Lord's mission.

  3. 3

    One who engages exclusively in the Supreme Lord's service becomes free from other obligations. Kardama Muni therefore preferred to devote his life to serving the Lord.

Key points from the purport
  • But Kardama Muni said that although his father was Prajāpati, who desired him to produce children, actually his origin was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, because Viṣṇu is the origin of everything; He is the actual creator of this universe, He is the actual maintainer, and when everything is annihilated, it rests in Him only.
  • Kardama Muni knew very well, by his power in progressive spiritual life, that Viṣṇu, the Personality of Godhead, was his worshipable Deity.
  • Kardama Muni preferred to devote his life as a servant of the Lord in paramahaṁsa knowledge and to beget a child only for that purpose, not to beget numberless children to fill up the vacancies in the universe.

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 22: The Marriage of Kardama Muni and Devahūti

Kardama marries Devahūti with plans for later renunciation, and Manu returns home absorbed in Vāsudeva.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.22
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yataḥfrom whom
  2. abhavatemanated
  3. viśvamcreation
  4. idamthis
  5. vicitramwonderful
  6. saṁsthāsyatewill dissolve
  7. yatrain whom
  8. caand
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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

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 3.22

    In this verse: “free from”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 3.22

    In this verse: “duty”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 3.22

    In this verse: “child”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I regard the Supreme Lord's service as the guiding purpose of my duties?

Practice

Before beginning one duty today, pause and consider how to perform it in a spirit of service to the Supreme Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Live this todayThe Supreme Lord Is Our Highest 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.

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