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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 6: Creation of the Universal Form
3.6.193.6.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.6.20

Sarga· Creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 3.6.11inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

गुदं पुंसो विनिर्भिन्नं मित्रो लोकेश आविशत् ।

पायुनांशेन येनासौ विसर्गं प्रतिपद्यते ॥ २० ॥

gudaṁ puṁso vinirbhinnaṁ

mitro lokeśa āviśat

pāyunāṁśena yenāsau

visargaṁ pratipadyate

Translation

The evacuating channel separately became manifest, and the director named Mitra entered into it with partial organs of evacuation. Thus the living entities are able to pass stool and urine.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Evacuation Within the Universal Arrangement

  1. 1

    The evacuating channel of the gigantic form became separately manifest.

  2. 2

    Mitra, the director, entered it with partial organs of evacuation.

  3. 3

    Through this arrangement, living entities are able to pass stool and urine.

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 6: Creation of the Universal Form

The Lord enters the material elements, manifesting the universal form with its senses, deities, and social orders.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.6
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. gudamevacuating outlet
  2. puṁsaḥof the gigantic form
  3. vinirbhinnambeing separately manifested
  4. mitraḥthe sun-god
  5. loka-īśaḥthe director named Mitra
  6. āviśatentered
  7. pāyunā aṁśenawith the partial evacuation process
  8. yenaby which
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

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 change the way I regard an ordinary bodily function?

Practice

Reread the translation once, noticing how even evacuation has a place in the gigantic form.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayEvacuation Within the Universal ArrangementThis 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 3.6.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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