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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 7: The Sacrifice Performed by Dakṣa
4.7.504.7.52

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.7.51

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Lordsince 4.7.51inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

आत्ममायां समाविश्य सोऽहं गुणमयीं द्विज ।

सृजन् रक्षन् हरन् विश्वं दध्रे संज्ञां क्रियोचिताम् ॥ ५१ ॥

ātma-māyāṁ samāviśya

so ’haṁ guṇamayīṁ dvija

sṛjan rakṣan haran viśvaṁ

dadhre saṁjñāṁ kriyocitām

Translation

The Lord continued: My dear Dakṣa Dvija, I am the original Personality of Godhead, but in order to create, maintain and annihilate this cosmic manifestation, I act through My material energy, and according to the different grades of activity, My representations are differently named.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

One Supreme Origin, Different Activities and Names

  1. 1

    The whole world is energy released from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Living entities are His superior energy and are His parts and parcels.

  2. 2

    Living entities act under different qualities of material nature and receive different bodies. Their varied forms do not change their origin in the Supreme Lord.

  3. 3

    Brahmā acts for creation, Śiva for annihilation, and Viṣṇu controls goodness. These different names correspond to different activities, while the origin is one.

Key points from the purport
  • As parts and parcels, the living entities are not different from the Supreme Lord; the energy emanated from Him is not different from Him.
  • But in the actual activity of this material world, the living entity is under the different qualities of material energy and in different forms.
  • As far as the spiritual entrance into the material world is concerned, all beings are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, but under the covering of different material qualities they have different names.

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 4.7.51 quotesBG 7.5

As explained in Bhagavad-gītā (7.5), jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho: the whole world is energy released from the supreme source, the Personality of Godhead, who, it is further stated in Bhagavad-gītā, acts in superior energies and inferior energies.

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

Humiliation and anger → Reconciliation. Relational offense leads to grief and destruction before restoration.

Chapters 1–7 of Canto 4: Dakṣa, Satī and Śiva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 7: The Sacrifice Performed by Dakṣa

Lord Śiva is pacified, Dakṣa acknowledges his offense, and Lord Viṣṇu accepts the sacrifice.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.7
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ātma-māyāmMy energy
  2. samāviśyahaving entered
  3. saḥMyself
  4. ahamI
  5. guṇa-mayīmcomposed of the modes of material nature
  6. dvi-jaO twice-born Dakṣa
  7. sṛjancreating
  8. rakṣanmaintaining
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 4.7

    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 remembering your spiritual origin change how you view bodily differences?

Practice

When you notice a bodily difference between yourself and someone else, remember that both of you are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayOne Supreme Origin, Different Activities and NamesThis 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 4.7.51? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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