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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 5.18.32

Who is speaking and story frame

जरायुजं स्वेदजमण्डजोद्भ‍िदं

चराचरं देवर्षिपितृभूतमैन्द्रियम् ।

द्यौ: खं क्षिति: शैलसरित्समुद्र-

द्वीपग्रहर्क्षेत्यभिधेय एक: ॥ ३२ ॥

jarāyujaṁ svedajam aṇḍajodbhidaṁ

carācaraṁ devarṣi-pitṛ-bhūtam aindriyam

dyauḥ khaṁ kṣitiḥ śaila-sarit-samudra-

dvīpa-graharkṣety abhidheya ekaḥ

Translation

My dear Lord, You manifest Your different energies in countless forms: as living entities born from wombs, from eggs and from perspiration; as plants and trees that grow out of the earth; as all living entities, both moving and standing, including the demigods, the learned sages and the pitās; as outer space, as the higher planetary system containing the heavenly planets, and as the planet earth with its hills, rivers, seas, oceans and islands. Indeed, all the stars and planets are simply manifestations of Your different energies, but originally You are one without a second. Therefore there is nothing beyond You. This entire cosmic manifestation is therefore not false but is simply a temporary manifestation of Your inconceivable energy.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The World Is Temporary, Not False

  1. 1

    Living beings, mountains, rivers, stars and planets are manifestations of the Lord’s different energies. Although His energies appear in countless forms, He remains one without a second.

  2. 2

    Both permanent and temporary things are facts. The material world and our bodies are temporary, but they are not false.

  3. 3

    Living entities receive different bodies according to their past activities, or karma, and experience pleasure and pain within them. The Supreme Lord’s energy is permanent, although it is sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest.

Key points from the purport
  • This verse completely rejects the theory of brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, which states that spirit, or Brahman, is real, whereas the manifested material world, with its great variety of things, is false.
  • Although the body of the living entity is material, it is never false.
  • Our bodies cannot be called false; they are only temporary.

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 18: The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

In the hearts of nondevotees, however, there cannot be any good qualities, for such people are simply enchanted by the external, illusory energy of the Lord. Following in the footsteps of devotees, one should know that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the only worshipable Deity.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.18
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. jarāyu-jamone born from a womb
  2. sveda-jamone born from perspiration
  3. aṇḍa-jaone born from an egg
  4. udbhidamone born of the earth
  5. cara-acaramthe moving and the stationary
  6. devathe demigods
  7. ṛṣithe great sages
  8. pitṛthe inhabitants of Pitṛloka
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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 5.18

    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 knowing that my body is temporary but real affect the way I treat it and others?

Practice

Look at a plant or the sky and recall that it is a real manifestation of the Lord’s energy.

Live this todayThe World Is Temporary, Not FalseThis 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 5.18.32? Get an answer from the verses themselves.