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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 5.20.37

Who is speaking and story frame

स लोकत्रयान्ते परित ईश्वरेण विहितो यस्मात्सूर्यादीनां ध्रुवापवर्गाणां ज्योतिर्गणानां गभस्तयोऽर्वाचीनांस्त्रींल्लोकानावितन्वाना न कदाचित्पराचीना भवितुमुत्सहन्ते तावदुन्नहनायाम: ॥ ३७ ॥

sa loka-trayānte parita īśvareṇa vihito yasmāt sūryādīnāṁ dhruvāpavargāṇāṁ jyotir-gaṇānāṁ gabhastayo ’rvācīnāṁs trīḻ lokān āvitanvānā na kadācit parācīnā bhavitum utsahante tāvad unnahanāyāmaḥ.

Translation

By the supreme will of Kṛṣṇa, the mountain known as Lokāloka has been installed as the outer border of the three worlds — Bhūrloka, Bhuvarloka and Svarloka — to control the rays of the sun throughout the universe. All the luminaries, from the sun up to Dhruvaloka, distribute their rays throughout the three worlds, but only within the boundary formed by this mountain. Because it is extremely high, extending even higher than Dhruvaloka, it blocks the rays of the luminaries, which therefore can never extend beyond it.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Cosmic Boundary Established by Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    By Kṛṣṇa’s supreme will, Lokāloka forms the outer border of Bhūrloka, Bhuvarloka and Svarloka. The purport explains that these are the three primary planetary systems.

  2. 2

    Lokāloka regulates the distribution of rays from the sun and other luminaries. Rising higher than Dhruvaloka, it prevents those rays from extending beyond its boundary.

  3. 3

    Śukadeva Gosvāmī received this knowledge through disciplic succession and spoke it to Mahārāja Parīkṣit. The purport emphasizes the perfection and antiquity of knowledge received in this way.

Key points from the purport
  • When we speak of loka-traya, we refer to the three primary planetary systems — Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ and Svaḥ — into which the universe is divided.
  • Lokāloka Mountain has been established as the outer boundary of all the lokas to distribute the rays of the sun and other luminaries equally throughout the universe.
  • Therefore, even if modern scientists do not accept the other factual presentations of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, how can they deny the perfect astronomical calculations that existed long before they could imagine such things?

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 20: Studying the Structure of the Universe

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Vertically, the sun-globe is situated just in the middle of the universe, in Antarikṣa, the space between Bhūrloka and Bhuvarloka. The distance between the sun and the circumference of Aṇḍa-golaka, the globe of the universe, is estimated to be twenty-five koṭi yojanas (two billion miles).
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. saḥthat mountain
  2. loka-traya-anteat the end of the three lokas (Bhūrloka, Bhuvarloka and Svarloka)
  3. paritaḥall around
  4. īśvareṇaby the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa
  5. vihitaḥcreated
  6. yasmātfrom which
  7. sūrya-ādīnāmof the sun planet
  8. dhruva-apavargāṇāmup to Dhruvaloka and other, inferior luminaries
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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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.20

    In this verse: “knowledge”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does learning that this arrangement rests on Kṛṣṇa’s will affect my reading?

Practice

Reread the opening sentence and pause to remember Kṛṣṇa’s supreme will.

Live this todayThe Cosmic Boundary Established by 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.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 5.20.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.