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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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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 7: Further Inquires by Vidura
3.7.13.7.3

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.7.2

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vidurasince 3.7.2inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

विदुर उवाच

ब्रह्मन् कथं भगवतश्चिन्मात्रस्याविकारिण: ।

लीलया चापि युज्येरन्निर्गुणस्य गुणा: क्रिया: ॥ २ ॥

vidura uvāca

brahman kathaṁ bhagavataś

cin-mātrasyāvikāriṇaḥ

līlayā cāpi yujyeran

nirguṇasya guṇāḥ kriyāḥ

Translation

Śrī Vidura said: O great brāhmaṇa, since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the complete spiritual whole and is unchangeable, how is He connected with the material modes of nature and their activities? If this is His pastime, how do the activities of the unchangeable take place and exhibit qualities without the modes of nature?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Activities Are Always Transcendental

  1. 1

    The Lord creates through His many energies and remains their master. Living entities, unlike Him, can be subjugated by those energies.

  2. 2

    The material world is temporary, but the spiritual world is eternal and free from the modes of material nature, even material goodness.

  3. 3

    The Lord descends by His internal potency and never becomes materially contaminated. His body, activities and Himself are nondifferent, so considering His activities material is mistaken.

Key points from the purport
  • Since the Supreme Lord of such eternal and unchangeable qualities is never subjugated by anything like material influence, how can His activities and form be conceived to be under the influence of illusory māyā, as is the case with the living entities?
  • The Lord’s transcendental knowledge and potency always remain the same; they do not change, even when displayed in the material world.
  • The conditioned soul’s activities are displayed through the medium of the modes of material nature and are therefore perverted in appearance.

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 3.7.2 quotesBG 8.19

As described in Bhagavad-gītā (8.19), bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate.

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 7: Further Inquires by Vidura

Vidura asks about illusion, the soul, creation, religious duties, and the relationship between teacher and disciple.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.7
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. viduraḥ uvācaVidura said
  2. brahmanO brāhmaṇa
  3. kathamhow
  4. bhagavataḥof the Personality of Godhead
  5. cit-mātrasyaof the complete spiritual whole
  6. avikāriṇaḥof the unchangeable
  7. līlayāby His pastime
  8. caeither
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.7

    In this verse: “material”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 3.7

    In this verse: “contaminated”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 3.7

    In this verse: “free from”

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

Do I sometimes judge the Lord’s activities as though He were an ordinary living entity?

Practice

Read one sentence from this purport again and note how it distinguishes the Lord from a conditioned soul.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Activities Are Always TranscendentalThis 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 3.7.2? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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