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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 25: The Glories of Lord Ananta
5.24.315.25.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.25.1

Sthāna· The universe in order
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.25.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीशुक उवाच

तस्य मूलदेशे त्रिंशद्योजनसहस्रान्तर आस्ते या वै कला भगवतस्तामसी समाख्यातानन्त इति सात्वतीया द्रष्टृद‍ृश्ययो: सङ्कर्षणमहमित्यभिमानलक्षणं यं सङ्कर्षणमित्याचक्षते ॥ १ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca

tasya mūla-deśe triṁśad-yojana-sahasrāntara āste yā vai kalā bhagavatas tāmasī samākhyātānanta iti sātvatīyā draṣṭṛ-dṛśyayoḥ saṅkarṣaṇam aham ity abhimāna-lakṣaṇaṁ yaṁ saṅkarṣaṇam ity ācakṣate.

Translation

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said to Mahārāja Parīkṣit: My dear King, approximately 240,000 miles beneath the planet Pātāla lives another incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the expansion of Lord Viṣṇu known as Lord Ananta or Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa. He is always in the transcendental position, but because He is worshiped by Lord Śiva, the deity of tamo-guṇa or darkness, He is sometimes called tāmasī. Lord Ananta is the predominating Deity of the material mode of ignorance as well as the false ego of all conditioned souls. When a conditioned living being thinks, “I am the enjoyer, and this world is meant to be enjoyed by me,” this conception of life is dictated to him by Saṅkarṣaṇa. Thus the mundane conditioned soul thinks himself the Supreme Lord.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Is Transcendental, Not the Enjoying Soul

  1. 1

    Lord Ananta, or Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, is an expansion of Lord Viṣṇu. Although sometimes called tāmasī, He is always transcendental and has no material body.

  2. 2

    Thinking “I am the Supreme Lord” or “I am the supreme enjoyer” is illusion. The living entity is only an insignificant part of the Supreme Lord.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord seated in everyone’s heart; remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness come from Him. As Saṅkarṣaṇa, He allows the soul who claims to be supreme to remain in that forgetfulness.

Key points from the purport
  • As explained in the above verse, Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa is the predominating Deity of this false conception.
  • The Lord is situated in everyone’s heart as Saṅkarṣaṇa, and when a demon thinks himself one with the Supreme Lord, the Lord keeps him in that darkness.
  • He is always transcendental, but because He is the Supersoul of Lord Śiva, who must perform tamasic activities, Saṅkarṣaṇa is sometimes called tāmasī.

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 5.25.1 quotesSB 5.5.8

It is described elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.8): janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti.

The purport of SB 5.25.1 quotesBG 15.15

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

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 25: The Glories of Lord Ananta

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Ananta instructs Lord Śiva how to destroy the cosmos, and thus He is sometimes called tāmasī, or “one who is in the mode of darkness.” He is the original Deity of material consciousness, and because He attracts all living entities, He is sometimes known as Saṅkarṣaṇa.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.25
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-śukaḥ uvācaŚrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
  2. tasyaof the planet Pātāla
  3. mūla-deśein the region beneath the base
  4. triṁśatthirty
  5. yojanaeight-mile units of measurement
  6. sahasra-antareat an interval of one thousand
  7. āsteremains
  8. yāwhich
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.25

    In this verse: “material”, “illusion”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 5.25

    In this verse: “worshiped”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 5.25

    In this verse: “false ego”

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

When do I act as though everything exists for my enjoyment?

Practice

Notice one desire to be the supreme enjoyer today, and pause to remember your position as a small part of the Supreme Lord.

5

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 5.5.8

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 5.25's connections

Live this todayThe Lord Is Transcendental, Not the Enjoying SoulThis 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 5.25.1? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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