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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.26.55

Who is speaking and story frame

घ्राणाद्वायुरभिद्येतामक्षिणी चक्षुरेतयो: ।

तस्मात्सूर्यो न्यभिद्येतां कर्णौ श्रोत्रं ततो दिश: ॥ ५५ ॥

ghrāṇād vāyur abhidyetām

akṣiṇī cakṣur etayoḥ

tasmāt sūryo nyabhidyetāṁ

karṇau śrotraṁ tato diśaḥ

Translation

In the wake of the olfactory sense came the wind-god, who presides over that sense. Thereafter a pair of eyes appeared in the universal form, and in them the sense of sight. In the wake of this sense came the sun-god, who presides over it. Next there appeared in Him a pair of ears, and in them the auditory sense and in its wake the Dig-devatās, or the deities who preside over the directions.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Material Nature Works Under the Lord

  1. 1

    The senses and their presiding deities appear in the Lord's universal form. The wind-god presides over smell, the sun-god over sight, and the Dig-devatās over hearing.

  2. 2

    The sun appeared after the eyes of the universal form and depends upon them. The sun is described as the eye of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.

  3. 3

    Material nature supplies the materials, but creation is actually done by the Supreme Lord. Under His direction, material nature produces moving and nonmoving objects.

Key points from the purport
  • The appearance of different bodily parts of the Lord’s universal form and the appearance of the presiding deities of those bodily parts is being described.
  • The sun is dependent on the eyes of the universal form.
  • Actually, everything is created by the universal body of the Supreme Godhead.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 3.26.55 quotesBG 9.10

The creation is actually done by the Supreme Lord, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10).

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ghrāṇātfrom the olfactory sense
  2. vāyuḥthe wind-god
  3. abhidyetāmappeared
  4. akṣiṇīthe two eyes
  5. cakṣuḥthe sense of sight
  6. etayoḥin them
  7. tasmātfrom that
  8. sūryaḥthe sun-god
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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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.26

    In this verse: “material”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 3.26

    In this verse: “hearing”

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

How does this account change my understanding of material nature's independence?

Practice

When you notice sunlight today, remember the teaching that the sun depends on the Supreme Lord.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMaterial Nature Works Under the LordThis 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 3.26.55? Get an answer from the verses themselves.