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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 20: Studying the Structure of the Universe
5.20.225.20.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.20.23

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.20.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

आप: पुरुषवीर्या: स्थ पुनन्तीर्भूर्भुव:सुव: ।

ता न: पुनीतामीवघ्नी: स्पृशतामात्मना भुव इति ॥ २३ ॥

āpaḥ puruṣa-vīryāḥ stha

punantīr bhūr-bhuvaḥ-suvaḥ

tā naḥ punītāmīva-ghnīḥ

spṛśatām ātmanā bhuva iti

Translation

[The inhabitants of Krauñcadvīpa worship with this mantra.] O water of the rivers, you have obtained energy from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore you purify the three planetary systems, known as Bhūloka, Bhuvarloka and Svarloka. By your constitutional nature, you take away sins, and that is why we are touching you. Kindly continue to purify us.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Water Receives Its Energy From Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa includes water among His eight separated material energies. The Lord’s energy acts throughout creation, just as the sun’s heat and light act within the universe.

  2. 2

    The specific rivers mentioned in the śāstras are energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The purport explains that people who regularly bathe in them are purified.

  3. 3

    The inhabitants of Krauñcadvīpa touch the river waters and ask for continued purification. Their prayer acknowledges that the waters receive their power from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • The specific rivers mentioned in the śāstras are also energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and people who regularly bathe in them are purified.
  • It can actually be seen that many people are cured of diseases simply by bathing in the Ganges.
  • Similarly, the inhabitants of Krauñcadvīpa purify themselves by bathing in the rivers there.

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 5.20.23 quotesBG 7.4

Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4): “Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego — all together these eight comprise My separated material energies.”

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 20: Studying the Structure of the Universe

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The inhabitants of this island worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of water. The fifth island, Śākadvīpa, which is 25,600,000 miles wide, is surrounded by an ocean of yogurt.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.20
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. āpaḥO water
  2. puruṣa-vīryāḥendowed with the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  3. sthayou are
  4. punantīḥsanctifying
  5. bhūḥof the planetary system known as Bhūḥ
  6. bhuvaḥof the Bhuvaḥ planetary system
  7. suvaḥof the Svaḥ planetary system
  8. tāḥthat water
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 5.20

    In this verse: “purify”, “sins”, “purified”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 5.20

    In this verse: “worship”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 5.20

    In this verse: “kindly”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does remembering water as Kṛṣṇa’s energy change your appreciation of it?

Practice

When using water today, pause once to remember that it is an energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Live this todayWater Receives Its Energy From KṛṣṇaThis 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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