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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 ›
Canto 5 · Chapter 17: The Descent of the River Ganges
5.17.205.17.22-23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.17.21

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Śivasince 5.17.21inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यमाहुरस्य स्थितिजन्मसंयमंत्रिभिर्विहीनं यमनन्तमृषय: । न वेद सिद्धार्थमिव क्‍वचित्स्थितंभूमण्डलं मूर्धसहस्रधामसु॒ ॥ २१ ॥

yam āhur asya sthiti-janma-saṁyamaṁ

tribhir vihīnaṁ yam anantam ṛṣayaḥ

na veda siddhārtham iva kvacit sthitaṁ

bhū-maṇḍalaṁ mūrdha-sahasra-dhāmasu

Translation

Lord Śiva continued: All the great sages accept the Lord as the source of creation, maintenance and destruction, although He actually has nothing to do with these activities. Therefore the Lord is called unlimited. Although the Lord in His incarnation as Śeṣa holds all the universes on His hoods, each universe feels no heavier than a mustard seed to Him. Therefore, what person desiring perfection will not worship the Lord?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Worship the Lord of Unlimited Strength

  1. 1

    The great sages accept the Lord as the source of creation, maintenance and destruction, although He has nothing to do with these activities. He is unlimited.

  2. 2

    Śeṣa, also known as Ananta, is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He possesses unlimited strength, fame, wealth, knowledge, beauty and renunciation.

  3. 3

    Innumerable universes rest on Ananta’s thousands of hoods, yet they feel no heavier than mustard seeds. The verse invites anyone desiring perfection to worship this unlimited Lord.

Key points from the purport
  • The incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead known as Śeṣa or Ananta has unlimited strength, fame, wealth, knowledge, beauty and renunciation.
  • He has the bodily features of a snake with thousands of hoods, and since His strength is unlimited, all the universes resting on His hoods feel no heavier than mustard seeds.
  • By our calculation, a universe may be very, very heavy, but because the Lord is ananta (unlimited), He feels the weight to be no heavier than a mustard seed.

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

Quoted in the purport ofCC Ādi 5.119

There is a reference to Śeṣa Nāga in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.17.21), where it is said:

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 17: The Descent of the River Ganges

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

A different incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead distributes His mercy in each of the nine varṣas of Jambūdvīpa. In the Ilāvṛta-varṣa, Lord Śiva is the only male.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.17
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yamwhom
  2. āhuḥthey said
  3. asyaof the material world
  4. sthitithe maintenance
  5. janmacreation
  6. saṁyamamannihilation
  7. tribhiḥthese three
  8. vihīnamwithout
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 5.17

    In this verse: “worship”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.17

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.17

    In this verse: “wealth”

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 image of universes weighing no more than mustard seeds deepen my appreciation of the Lord?

Practice

Spend one minute reflecting on Ananta supporting the universes, then offer Him a brief prayer of worship.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayWorship the Lord of Unlimited StrengthThis 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 5.17.21? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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