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

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Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 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.
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Canto 5 · Chapter 16: A Description of Jambūdvīpa
5.16.20-215.16.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.16.22

Sthāna· The universe in order
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.16.4inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यस्तु महाकदम्ब: सुपार्श्वनिरूढो यास्तस्य कोटरेभ्यो विनि:सृता: पञ्चायामपरिणाहा: पञ्च मधुधारा: सुपार्श्वशिखरात्पतन्त्योऽपरेणात्मानमिलावृतमनुमोदयन्ति ॥ २२ ॥

yas tu mahā-kadambaḥ supārśva-nirūḍho yās tasya koṭarebhyo viniḥsṛtāḥ pañcāyāma-pariṇāhāḥ pañca madhu-dhārāḥ supārśva-śikharāt patantyo ’pareṇātmānam ilāvṛtam anumodayanti.

Translation

On the side of Supārśva Mountain stands a big tree called Mahākadamba, which is very celebrated. From the hollows of this tree flow five rivers of honey, each about five vyāmas wide. This flowing honey falls incessantly from the top of Supārśva Mountain and flows all around Ilāvṛta-varṣa, beginning from the western side. Thus the whole land is saturated with the pleasing fragrance.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Mahākadamba’s Honey Rivers Fragrance the Land

  1. 1

    The celebrated Mahākadamba tree stands on the side of Supārśva Mountain. Five rivers of honey flow from its hollows.

  2. 2

    Each river is about five vyāmas wide. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that a vyāma is the span of outstretched arms, about eight feet, making each river about forty feet wide.

  3. 3

    The honey flows incessantly down the mountain and around Ilāvṛta-varṣa, beginning on the western side. Its pleasing fragrance saturates the whole land.

Key points from the purport
  • The distance between one hand and another when one spreads both his arms is called a vyāma.
  • Thus each of the rivers was about forty feet wide, making a total of about two hundred feet.

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

Smallness → Awe and reverence. A vast cosmos changes the reader's perspective.

Chapters 15–25 of Canto 5: The cosmic regions and divine worship. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 16: A Description of Jambūdvīpa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

On the side of Supārśva Mountain is a kadamba tree with streams of honey flowing from its hollows, and on Kumuda Mountain there is a banyan tree named Śatavalśa, from whose roots flow rivers containing milk, yogurt and many other desirable things. Surrounding Sumeru Mountain like filaments of the whorl of a lotus are twenty mountain ranges such as Kuraṅga, Kurara, Kusumbha, Vaikaṅka and Trikūṭa.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yaḥwhich
  2. tubut
  3. mahā-kadambaḥthe tree named Mahākadamba
  4. supārśva-nirūḍhaḥwhich stands on the side of the mountain known as Supārśva
  5. yāḥwhich
  6. tasyaof that
  7. koṭarebhyaḥfrom the hollows
  8. viniḥsṛtāḥflowing
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sthāna · Planetary systems

    How is the universe arranged, and what is our right place in it? · Subject 3 of 10

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 the purport’s explanation of a vyāma help you appreciate the scale of these rivers?

Practice

Spread both arms to picture the measurement called a vyāma, then note the purport’s stated width of each honey river.

Live this todayMahākadamba’s Honey Rivers Fragrance the LandThis 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.

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