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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.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.16.3

Who is speaking and story frame

भगवतो गुणमये स्थूलरूप आवेशितं मनो ह्यगुणेऽपि सूक्ष्मतम आत्मज्योतिषि परे ब्रह्मणि भगवति वासुदेवाख्ये क्षममावेशितुं तदु हैतद् गुरोऽर्हस्यनुवर्णयितुमिति ॥ ३ ॥

bhagavato guṇamaye sthūla-rūpa āveśitaṁ mano hy aguṇe ’pi sūkṣmatama ātma-jyotiṣi pare brahmaṇi bhagavati vāsudevākhye kṣamam āveśituṁ tad u haitad guro ’rhasy anuvarṇayitum iti.

Translation

When the mind is fixed upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His external feature made of the material modes of nature — the gross universal form — it is brought to the platform of pure goodness. In that transcendental position, one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, who in His subtler form is self-effulgent and beyond the modes of nature. O my lord, please describe vividly how that form, which covers the entire universe, is perceived.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Connect Everything With the Lord’s Service

  1. 1

    Following his spiritual master’s advice, Mahārāja Parīkṣit thought continuously of the Lord’s universal form. Fixing the mind this way prepares one to understand Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, beyond the modes of nature.

  2. 2

    Everything is connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and should be engaged in His service. Something favorable for the Lord’s service should not be rejected merely as material.

  3. 3

    Managing property, money and books for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness should not be considered material. The purport stresses that such service should accompany the regular chanting of sixteen rounds of the mahā-mantra every day.

Key points from the purport
  • The universal form is certainly material, but because everything is an expansion of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, ultimately nothing is material.
  • Therefore although he might not have had any reason to be concerned with detailed information of the universe, he was thinking of it in relationship with the Supreme Lord, and therefore such geographical knowledge was not material but transcendental.
  • Therefore although Parīkṣit Mahārāja had no need for geographical knowledge of this universe, that knowledge was also spiritual and transcendental because he was thinking of the entire universe as an expansion of the energy of the Lord.

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 5.16.3 quotesSB 1.5.20

Elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.20) Nārada Muni has said, idaṁ hi viśvaṁ bhagavān ivetaraḥ: the entire universe is also the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although it appears different from Him.

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

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:

The place known as Jambūdvīpa is in the middle of that whorl. In Jambūdvīpa there is a mountain known as Sumeru, which is made of solid gold.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.16
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. bhagavataḥof the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  2. guṇa-mayeinto the external features, consisting of the three modes of material nature
  3. sthūla-rūpethe gross form
  4. āveśitamentered
  5. manaḥthe mind
  6. hiindeed
  7. aguṇetranscendental
  8. apialthough
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.16

    In this verse: “understand”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.16

    In this verse: “material”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 5.16

    In this verse: “chanting”

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

What ordinary resource could I engage in devotional service rather than see as merely material?

Practice

Set aside a few minutes today to use one resource you have to help share Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

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Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 1.5.20

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 5.16's connections

Live this todayConnect Everything With the Lord’s ServiceThis 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 5.16.3? Get an answer from the verses themselves.