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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 4 · The Creation of the Fourth Order · 31 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 4 · Chapter 11: Svāyambhuva Manu Advises Dhruva Mahārāja to Stop Fighting
4.11.254.11.27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.11.26

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Manusince 4.11.16inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

एष भूतानि भूतात्मा भूतेशो भूतभावन: ।

स्वशक्त्या मायया युक्त: सृजत्यत्ति च पाति च ॥ २६ ॥

eṣa bhūtāni bhūtātmā

bhūteśo bhūta-bhāvanaḥ

sva-śaktyā māyayā yuktaḥ

sṛjaty atti ca pāti ca

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supersoul of all living entities. He is the controller and maintainer of everyone; through the agency of His external energy, He creates, maintains and annihilates everyone.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Presence Makes a Place Spiritual

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supersoul, controller and maintainer of all living entities. Through His external energy, He creates, maintains and annihilates them.

  2. 2

    The material world is created through His external energy, while the spiritual world manifests His internal energy. He remains associated with His internal energy and aloof from material energy.

  3. 3

    Wherever the Supreme Lord is personally present is to be understood as the spiritual world. A temple where pure devotees worship Him is therefore spiritual.

Key points from the purport
  • The Lord creates this material world through His external, material energy, whereas the spiritual world is a manifestation of His internal energy.
  • Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) the Lord says, mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: “All living entities are living on Me or on My energy, but I am not everywhere.”
  • The temple is therefore to be understood as being the spiritual world.

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 4.11.26 quotesBG 9.4

Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) the Lord says, mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: “All living entities are living on Me or on My energy, but I am not everywhere.”

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

Rejection → Transformed aspiration. A child's wounded pride is purified by divine encounter.

Chapters 8–12 of Canto 4: Dhruva seeks and encounters the Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 11: Svāyambhuva Manu Advises Dhruva Mahārāja to Stop Fighting

Svāyambhuva Manu urges Dhruva to stop killing innocent Yakṣas and turn his attention to the Supreme Lord.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.11
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. eṣaḥthis
  2. bhūtāniall created beings
  3. bhūta-ātmāthe Supersoul of all living entities
  4. bhūta-īśaḥthe controller of everyone
  5. bhūta-bhāvanaḥthe maintainer of everyone
  6. sva-śaktyāthrough His energy
  7. māyayāthe external energy
  8. yuktaḥthrough such agency
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.11

    In this verse: “devotees”, “worship”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.11

    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 does this teaching deepen my understanding of a temple where the Lord is worshiped?

Practice

Take a moment today to reflect on the temple as a place of the Lord’s personal presence, not merely a material building.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Presence Makes a Place SpiritualThis 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 4.11.26? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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