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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 18: The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa
5.18.365.18.38

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.18.37

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.18.34inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

द्रव्यक्रियाहेत्वयनेशकर्तृभि-

र्मायागुणैर्वस्तुनिरीक्षितात्मने ।

अन्वीक्षयाङ्गातिशयात्मबुद्धिभि-

र्निरस्तमायाकृतये नमो नम: ॥ ३७ ॥

dravya-kriyā-hetv-ayaneśa-kartṛbhir

māyā-guṇair vastu-nirīkṣitātmane

anvīkṣayāṅgātiśayātma-buddhibhir

nirasta-māyākṛtaye namo namaḥ

Translation

The objects of material enjoyment [sound, form, taste, touch and smell], the activities of the senses, the controllers of sensory activities [the demigods], the body, eternal time and egotism are all creations of Your material energy. Those whose intelligence has become fixed by perfect execution of mystic yoga can see that all these elements result from the actions of Your external energy. They can also see Your transcendental form as Supersoul in the background of everything. Therefore I repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Cause of All Causes

  1. 1

    Sense objects, sensory activities, attachment to pleasure, the body and false egotism arise from the Lord’s external energy, māyā. The living being acts, but is directed by the Supersoul.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa is seated in everyone’s heart, and remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness come from Him. The living entity depends on the Supersoul for direction.

  3. 3

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, is the cause of all causes and the background of everything. One who sees Him as the original cause can actually see.

Key points from the purport
  • The objects of material enjoyment, the sensory activities, attachment to sensual pleasure, the body, false egotism and so on are produced by the Lord’s external energy, māyā.
  • The background of all these activities is the living being, and the director of the living beings is the Supersoul.
  • Behind everything visible to our material eyes is some cause, and one who can see the original cause of all causes, Lord Kṛṣṇa, can actually see.

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· 2

The purport of SB 5.18.37 quotesBG 15.15

In Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) Kṛṣṇa confirms this: “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.”

The purport of SB 5.18.37 quotesBG 9.10

Kṛṣṇa, the sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, is the background of everything, as He Himself confirms in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10): “This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings.

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 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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dravyaby the objects of sense enjoyment
  2. kriyāthe activities of the senses
  3. hetuthe predominating deities of sensory activities
  4. ayanathe body
  5. īśathe predominating time
  6. kartṛbhiḥby false egotism
  7. māyā-guṇaiḥby the modes of material nature
  8. vastuas a fact
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 5.18

    In this verse: “material”, “attachment”, “māyā”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.18

    In this verse: “knowledge”

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 acknowledging my dependence on the Supersoul change my sense of being in control?

Practice

Before beginning one task today, pause and acknowledge your dependence on Kṛṣṇa for knowledge and remembrance.

5

Connected stories

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

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 5.18's connections

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the Cause of All CausesThis 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 5.18.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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