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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
5.25.55.25.7

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.25.6

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.25.2inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

स एव भगवाननन्तोऽनन्तगुणार्णव आदिदेव उपसंहृतामर्षरोषवेगो लोकानां स्वस्तय आस्ते ॥ ६ ॥

sa eva bhagavān ananto ’nanta-guṇārṇava ādi-deva upasaṁhṛtāmarṣa-roṣa-vego lokānāṁ svastaya āste.

Translation

Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa is the ocean of unlimited spiritual qualities, and thus He is known as Anantadeva. He is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For the welfare of all living entities within this material world, He resides in His abode, restraining His anger and intolerance.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Restraint Gives Us Another Chance

  1. 1

    Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa is an ocean of unlimited spiritual qualities and is therefore known as Anantadeva. He is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  2. 2

    The material world gives conditioned souls another chance to go back home, back to Godhead. Yet many return to their old desire to lord it over the world.

  3. 3

    Although His mission is to dissolve the material creation, Anantadeva kindly restrains His anger for our welfare. Only at certain times does He destroy the material world.

Key points from the purport
  • Anantadeva’s main mission is to dissolve this material creation, but He checks His anger and intolerance.
  • These activities of the conditioned souls anger Anantadeva, and He desires to destroy the entire material world.
  • Only at certain times does He express His anger and destroy the material world.

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 25: The Glories of Lord Ananta

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Because Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa is an expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, many devotees offer Him prayers, and in the planetary system of Pātāla, all the suras, asuras, Gandharvas, Vidyādharas and learned sages offer Him their respectful obeisances. The Lord talks with them in a sweet voice.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.25
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥthat
  2. evacertainly
  3. bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  4. anantaḥAnantadeva
  5. ananta-guṇa-arṇavaḥthe reservoir of unlimited transcendental qualities
  6. ādi-devaḥthe original Lord, or nondifferent from the original Supreme Personality of Godhead
  7. upasaṁhṛtawho has restrained
  8. amarṣaof His intolerance
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 5.25

    In this verse: “welfare”, “kindly”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I use the opportunity given by the Lord’s kindness rather than trying to control everything?

Practice

Pause once today when you want to control a situation, and remember the Lord’s kindness in giving you another chance to return to Him.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Restraint Gives Us Another ChanceThis 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 5.25.6? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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