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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 6: Creation of the Universal Form
3.6.83.6.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.6.9

Sarga· Creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 3.6.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

साध्यात्म: साधिदैवश्च साधिभूत इति त्रिधा ।

विराट् प्राणो दशविध एकधा हृदयेन च ॥ ९ ॥

sādhyātmaḥ sādhidaivaś ca

sādhibhūta iti tridhā

virāṭ prāṇo daśa-vidha

ekadhā hṛdayena ca

Translation

The gigantic universal form is represented by three, ten and one in the sense that He is the body and the mind and the senses, He is the dynamic force for all movements by ten kinds of life energy, and He is the one heart where life energy is generated.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Remember the Lord Through Devotional Service

  1. 1

    The body’s gross and subtle elements belong to the Lord’s inferior energy, while living entities belong to His superior energy. The senses carry out bodily activities through ten kinds of life air generated from the heart.

  2. 2

    The Lord sits in the heart with the individual soul and helps in remembering and forgetting. Through association with a devotee, one who remembers Him receives help to remember Him more and more.

  3. 3

    Devotional service, called buddhi-yoga, alone can lift the soul beyond material entanglement. The soul and Supersoul remain distinct: the soul experiences the fruits of action, while the Lord witnesses and helps.

Key points from the purport
  • In Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5) it is stated that the eight elements earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and false ego are all products of the Lord’s inferior energy, whereas the living entities, who are seen to utilize the inferior energy, originally belong to the superior energy, the internal potency of the Lord.
  • This central energy is superior energy of the Lord, who is seated within the heart with the soul of the body, who acts under the guidance of the Lord.
  • The complete central force is generated from the heart by the Lord, who is seated there and who helps the conditioned soul in remembering and forgetting.

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· 4

The purport of SB 3.6.9 quotesBG 7.4

In Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5) it is stated that the eight elements earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and false ego are all products of the Lord’s inferior energy, whereas the living entities, who are seen to utilize the inferior energy, originally belong to the superior energy, the internal potency of the Lord.

The purport of SB 3.6.9 quotesBG 15.15

This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) as follows: The complete central force is generated from the heart by the Lord, who is seated there and who helps the conditioned soul in remembering and forgetting.

The purport of SB 3.6.9 quotesBG 10.10

This process of transcendental help by the Lord is described in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10) as follows: The buddhi-yoga process of self-realization with intelligence transcendental to the mind (devotional service) can alone elevate one from the conditioned state of material entanglement in the cosmic construction.

The purport of SB 3.6.9 quotesBG 2.40

Because the buddhi-yoga process entails no fear of deterioration or retrogression at any time, it is the guaranteed path to self-realization, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (2.40).

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 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. sa-ādhyātmaḥthe body and mind with all the senses
  2. sa-ādhidaivaḥand the controlling demigods of the senses
  3. caand
  4. sa-ādhibhūtaḥthe present objectives
  5. itithus
  6. tridhāthree
  7. virāṭgigantic
  8. prāṇaḥmoving force
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.6

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotee”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.6

    In this verse: “material”

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

What choice today could help me remember the Lord rather than forget Him?

Practice

Speak with a devotee today about remembering the Lord, and take a quiet moment afterward to remember His presence in your heart.

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 3.6's connections

Live this todayRemember the Lord Through Devotional ServiceThis 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 3.6.9? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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