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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.
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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.20.35

Who is speaking and story frame

यावन्मानसोत्तरमेर्वोरन्तरं तावती भूमि: काञ्चन्यन्याऽऽदर्शतलोपमा यस्यां प्रहित: पदार्थो न

कथञ्चित्पुन:

प्रत्युपलभ्यते तस्मात्सर्वसत्त्वपरिहृतासीत् ॥ ३५ ॥

yāvan mānasottara-mervor antaraṁ tāvatī bhūmiḥ kāñcany anyādarśa-talopamā yasyāṁ prahitaḥ padārtho na kathañcit punaḥ pratyupalabhyate tasmāt sarva-sattva-parihṛtāsīt.

Translation

Beyond the ocean of sweet water is a tract of land as broad as the area between the middle of Mount Sumeru and the boundary of Mānasottara Mountain. In that tract of land there are many living beings. Beyond it, extending to Lokāloka Mountain, is another land, which is made of gold. Because of its golden surface, it reflects light like the surface of a mirror, and any physical article that falls on that land can never be perceived again. All living entities, therefore, have abandoned that golden land.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Inhabited Land and Golden Land

  1. 1

    Beyond the sweet-water ocean is a land inhabited by many living beings. Its breadth equals the distance from the middle of Mount Sumeru to the boundary of Mānasottara Mountain.

  2. 2

    Beyond that inhabited tract is a golden land extending to Lokāloka Mountain. Its surface reflects light like a mirror.

  3. 3

    Any physical article falling on the golden land can never be perceived again. Therefore all living entities have abandoned it.

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 area beyond Lokāloka Mountain is called Aloka-varṣa, and beyond Aloka-varṣa is the pure destination of persons who desire liberation. Vertically, the sun-globe is situated just in the middle of the universe, in Antarikṣa, the space between Bhūrloka and Bhuvarloka.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.20
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yāvatas much as
  2. mānasottara-mervoḥ antaramthe land between Mānasottara and Meru (beginning from the middle of Mount Sumeru)
  3. tāvatīthat much
  4. bhūmiḥland
  5. kāñcanīmade of gold
  6. anyāanother
  7. ādarśa-tala-upamāwhose surface is just like the surface of a mirror
  8. yasyāmon which
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sthāna · Planetary systems

    How is the universe arranged, and what is our right place in it? · Subject 3 of 10

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 5.20

    In this verse: “sweet”, “sweet-water”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which details distinguish the inhabited tract from the golden land?

Practice

Write down one feature of each of the two lands described here.

Live this todayThe Inhabited Land and Golden LandThis 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 5.20.35? Get an answer from the verses themselves.