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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
3.9.33.9.5

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.9.4

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
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

तद्वा इदं भुवनमङ्गल मङ्गलाय

ध्याने स्म नो दर्शितं त उपासकानाम् ।

तस्मै नमो भगवतेऽनुविधेम तुभ्यं

योऽनाद‍ृतो नरकभाग्भिरसत्प्रसङ्गै: ॥ ४ ॥

tad vā idaṁ bhuvana-maṅgala maṅgalāya

dhyāne sma no darśitaṁ ta upāsakānām

tasmai namo bhagavate ’nuvidhema tubhyaṁ

yo ’nādṛto naraka-bhāgbhir asat-prasaṅgaiḥ

Translation

This present form, or any transcendental form expanded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is equally auspicious for all the universes. Since You have manifested this eternal personal form upon whom Your devotees meditate, I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You. Those who are destined to be dispatched to the path of hell neglect Your personal form because of speculating on material topics.

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 Personal Forms

  1. 1

    Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Person, and all His plenary expansions are equally potent. Their personal forms bring blessings to all the universes.

  2. 2

    All the Lord’s forms are transcendental and never products of material energy. The form He reveals to a devotee remains spiritual even if that devotee retains material desires.

  3. 3

    Brahmā offers respectful obeisances to the Lord’s eternal personal form. The purport strongly warns against neglecting that form through impersonal speculation.

Key points from the purport
  • Regarding the personal and impersonal features of the Supreme Absolute Truth, the personal forms exhibited by the Lord in His different plenary expansions are all for the benediction of all the universes.
  • The personal form of the Lord is also worshiped in meditation as Supersoul, Paramātmā, but the impersonal brahmajyoti is not worshiped.
  • Impersonalists who consider the transcendental forms of the Lord to be products of the material world are surely destined for hell.

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· 2

The purport of SB 3.9.4 quotesBG 12.5

Persons who are addicted to the impersonal feature of the Lord, whether in meditation or otherwise, are all pilgrims to hell because, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (12.5), impersonalists simply waste their time in mundane mental speculation because they are addicted more to false arguments than to reality.

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 25.38

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.9.4).

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. tatthe Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa
  2. vāor
  3. idamthis present form
  4. bhuvana-maṅgalaO You who are all-auspicious for all the universes
  5. maṅgalāyafor the sake of all prosperity
  6. dhyānein meditation
  7. smaas it were
  8. naḥunto us
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotees”, “devotee”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 3.9

    In this verse: “blessings”

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

Do I regard the Lord’s personal form as eternal and spiritual, rather than material?

Practice

Offer respectful obeisances to the Lord, remembering that His personal form is untouched by matter.

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 Personal FormsThis 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 3.9.4? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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