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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.
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Canto 3 · Chapter 26: Fundamental Principles of Material Nature
3.26.103.26.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.26.11

Sarga· Creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 3.26.10inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

पञ्चभि: पञ्चभिर्ब्रह्म चतुर्भिर्दशभिस्तथा ।

एतच्चतुर्विंशतिकं गणं प्राधानिकं विदु: ॥ ११ ॥

pañcabhiḥ pañcabhir brahma

caturbhir daśabhis tathā

etac catur-viṁśatikaṁ

gaṇaṁ prādhānikaṁ viduḥ

Translation

The aggregate elements, namely the five gross elements, the five subtle elements, the four internal senses, the five senses for gathering knowledge and the five outward organs of action, are known as the pradhāna.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Pradhāna Comprises Twenty-Four Material Elements

  1. 1

    The aggregate called pradhāna includes five gross elements, five subtle elements and four internal senses. It also includes five knowledge-gathering senses and five organs of action.

  2. 2

    These twenty-four elements together are called yonir mahad brahma. The living entities are placed within this aggregate and are born in different forms.

  3. 3

    Pradhāna is described as the source of the birth and subsistence of living entities. Their forms range from Brahmā down to the insignificant ant.

Key points from the purport
  • The sum total of the living entities is impregnated into this yonir mahad brahma, and they are born in different forms, beginning from Brahmā down to the insignificant ant.
  • In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Vedic literatures, the sum total of the twenty-four elements, pradhāna, is also described as yonir mahad brahma; it is the source of the birth and subsistence of all living entities.

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

Entanglement → Insight and liberation. Inquiry matures into instruction in devotion and spiritual nature.

Chapters 25–33 of Canto 3: Kapila instructs Devahūti. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 26: Fundamental Principles of Material Nature

Kapila explains material nature, consciousness, time, the elements, and the manifestation of the universal form.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.26
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. pañcabhiḥwith the five (gross elements)
  2. pañcabhiḥthe five (subtle elements)
  3. brahmaBrahman
  4. caturbhiḥthe four (internal senses)
  5. daśabhiḥthe ten (five senses for gathering knowledge and five organs of action)
  6. tathāin that way
  7. etatthis
  8. catuḥ-viṁśatikamconsisting of twenty-four elements
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.26

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “knowledge-gathering”

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 this account help me distinguish living entities from the material elements in which they take birth?

Practice

Write the five groups of elements and their counts, then add them to confirm the total of twenty-four.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

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 todayPradhāna Comprises Twenty-Four Material ElementsThis 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 3.26.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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