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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 9: Brahmā’s Prayers for Creative Energy
3.9.133.9.15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.9.14

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 3.9.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

शश्वत्स्वरूपमहसैव निपीतभेद-

मोहाय बोधधिषणाय नम: परस्मै ।

विश्वोद्भवस्थितिलयेषु निमित्तलीला-

रासाय ते नम इदं चकृमेश्वराय ॥ १४ ॥

śaśvat svarūpa-mahasaiva nipīta-bheda-

mohāya bodha-dhiṣaṇāya namaḥ parasmai

viśvodbhava-sthiti-layeṣu nimitta-līlā-

rāsāya te nama idaṁ cakṛmeśvarāya

Translation

Let me offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Transcendence, who is eternally distinguished by His internal potency. His indistinguishable impersonal feature is realized by intelligence for self-realization. I offer my obeisances unto Him who by His pastimes enjoys the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the cosmic manifestation.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Honor the Lord’s Eternal Transcendental Distinction

  1. 1

    The Supreme Lord is eternally distinguished from the living entities by His internal potency. Self-realized intelligence can also understand His impersonal feature, which devotees respectfully honor.

  2. 2

    Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu creates, maintains and dissolves the material manifestation through His external potency. These activities are His pastimes of enjoyment.

  3. 3

    Brahmā indirectly offers respectful obeisances to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who enjoys with the gopīs. Understanding the distinction between the Lord’s internal and external potencies helps one recognize His distinction from the living entities.

Key points from the purport
  • The Supreme Lord is eternally distinguished from the living entities by His internal potency, although He is also understood in His impersonal feature by self-realized intelligence.
  • Devotees of the Lord, therefore, offer all respectful obeisances unto the impersonal feature of the Lord.
  • The distinction between the Lord and the living entity is definitely experienced when there is sufficient intelligence to understand His internal potency, as distinguished from the external potency by which He makes possible the material manifestation.

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

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 9: Brahmā’s Prayers for Creative Energy

Brahmā prays for mercy and creative power, and the Lord instructs and blesses him.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.9
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śaśvateternally
  2. svarūpatranscendental form
  3. mahasāby the glories
  4. evacertainly
  5. nipītadistinguished
  6. bhedadifferentiation
  7. mohāyaunto the illusory conception
  8. bodhaself-knowledge
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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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.9

    In this verse: “understand”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.9

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.9

    In this verse: “devotees”

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 recognizing the Lord’s eternal distinction from me deepen my respect for Him?

Practice

Offer respectful obeisances to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa today, remembering that He is eternally distinguished from the living entities.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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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 3.9's connections

Live this todayHonor the Lord’s Eternal Transcendental DistinctionThis 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 3.9.14? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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