1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 3 · The Status Quo · 33 chapters

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 5: Vidura’s Talks with Maitreya
3.5.493.5.51

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.5.50

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The demigodssince 3.5.39inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

त्वं न: सुराणामसि सान्वयानां

कूटस्थ आद्य: पुरुष: पुराण: ।

त्वं देव शक्त्यां गुणकर्मयोनौ

रेतस्त्वजायां कविमादधेऽज: ॥ ५० ॥

tvaṁ naḥ surāṇām asi sānvayānāṁ

kūṭa-stha ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ

tvaṁ deva śaktyāṁ guṇa-karma-yonau

retas tv ajāyāṁ kavim ādadhe ’jaḥ

Translation

You are the original personal founder of all the demigods and the orders of different gradations, yet You are the oldest and are unchanged. O Lord, You have no source or superior. You have impregnated the external energy with the semen of the total living entities, yet You are unborn.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Supreme Father Is Unborn and Unchanged

  1. 1

    The Lord is the original father of all living entities, but He has no father or superior. When He accepts a devotee as His father, He does so independently, out of causeless mercy.

  2. 2

    The Lord accompanies every living entity as the Supersoul and remains unchanged. Unlike the living entity, He does not undergo material changes of body.

  3. 3

    Material nature supplies the body, but the soul is originally part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Every living entity, however great, remains an eternally subordinate servant of the supreme father.

Key points from the purport
  • Every one of the living entities of all grades, up to Brahmā, the original creature of the universe, is begotten by a father, but He, the Lord, has no father.
  • All gradations of living entities are manifested by Brahmā and the external energy, but the Lord is the original father of everyone.
  • The relationship of every living being with the Supreme Lord is certainly one of son and father and not one of equality.

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 3.5.50 quotesBG 14.3

As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.3), the Lord impregnates the external or material energy, and thus the total living entities later come out in different gradations, beginning from Brahmā, the first demigod, down to the insignificant ant.

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

Mystery → Cosmic wonder. The origin of the world is revealed through inquiry and divine grace.

Chapters 5–12 of Canto 3: Creation and Brahmā's bewilderment. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 5: Vidura’s Talks with Maitreya

Vidura meets Maitreya, who begins explaining the Lord’s activities and the unfolding of material creation.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tvamYour Lordship
  2. naḥof us
  3. surāṇāmof the demigods
  4. asiYou are
  5. sa-anvayānāmwith different gradations
  6. kūṭa-sthaḥone who is unchanged
  7. ādyaḥwithout any superior
  8. puruṣaḥthe founder person
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

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 3.5

    In this verse: “mercy”, “causeless”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.5

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.5

    In this verse: “devotee”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does remembering the Lord as my supreme father deepen my willingness to serve Him?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer acknowledging the Lord as your supreme father and yourself as His servant.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 3.5's connections

Live this todayThe Supreme Father Is Unborn and UnchangedThis 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 3.5.50? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories