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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
3.9.153.9.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.9.16

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

यो वा अहं च गिरिशश्च विभु: स्वयं च

स्थित्युद्भवप्रलयहेतव आत्ममूलम् ।

भित्त्वा त्रिपाद्ववृध एक उरुप्ररोह-

स्तस्मै नमो भगवते भुवनद्रुमाय ॥ १६ ॥

yo vā ahaṁ ca giriśaś ca vibhuḥ svayaṁ ca

sthity-udbhava-pralaya-hetava ātma-mūlam

bhittvā tri-pād vavṛdha eka uru-prarohas

tasmai namo bhagavate bhuvana-drumāya

Translation

Your Lordship is the prime root of the tree of the planetary systems. This tree has grown by first penetrating the material nature in three trunks — as me, Śiva and You, the Almighty — for creation, maintenance and dissolution, and we three have grown with many branches. Therefore I offer my obeisances unto You, the tree of the cosmic manifestation.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Is the Root of Everything

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the root of the cosmic manifestation. Material nature is His energy and works only under His supervision.

  2. 2

    Viṣṇu, Brahmā and Śiva oversee maintenance, creation and destruction respectively. Viṣṇu is the Almighty and is not controlled by material nature, while Brahmā and Śiva are under its control.

  3. 3

    The material creation is like a reflected tree, whose original exists in eternal spiritual nature full of transcendental varieties. Lord Viṣṇu is the root of both, and Brahmā offers Him obeisances.

Key points from the purport
  • The real tree is situated in the eternal existence of spiritual nature, full of transcendental varieties, and Lord Viṣṇu is the root of that tree also.
  • The root is the same — the Lord — both for the real tree and the false, but the false tree is only the perverted reflection of the real tree.
  • The Lord, being the real tree, is here offered obeisances by Brahmā on his own behalf and also on behalf of Lord Śiva.

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 3.9.16 quotesBG 9.10

This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10): mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram.

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 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. yaḥone who
  2. vaicertainly
  3. aham caalso I
  4. giriśaḥ caalso Śiva
  5. vibhuḥthe Almighty
  6. svayampersonality (as Viṣṇu)
  7. caand
  8. sthitimaintenance
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 3.9

    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

How might seeing the Lord as the root of everything deepen my respect for Him?

Practice

Offer one respectful prayer to Lord Viṣṇu, acknowledging Him as the root of all creation.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Is the Root of EverythingThis 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 3.9.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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