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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
5.25.85.25.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.25.9

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.25.7inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

उत्पत्तिस्थितिलयहेतवोऽस्य कल्पा:

सत्त्वाद्या: प्रकृतिगुणा यदीक्षयाऽऽसन्॒ ।

यद्रूपं ध्रुवमकृतं यदेकमात्मन्

नानाधात्कथमु ह वेद तस्य वर्त्म ॥ ९ ॥

utpatti-sthiti-laya-hetavo ’sya kalpāḥ

sattvādyāḥ prakṛti-guṇā yad-īkṣayāsan

yad-rūpaṁ dhruvam akṛtaṁ yad ekam ātman

nānādhāt katham u ha veda tasya vartma

Translation

By His glance, the Supreme Personality of Godhead enables the modes of material nature to act as the causes of universal creation, maintenance and destruction. The Supreme Soul is unlimited and beginningless, and although He is one, He has manifested Himself in many forms. How can human society understand the ways of the Supreme?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Glorify the Lord Whose Greatness Is Unlimited

  1. 1

    The Supreme Lord’s glance enables the material modes to bring about creation, maintenance and destruction. He existed before creation and is eternal and unchanging.

  2. 2

    Lord Ananta’s glories have no end, and no one can understand Him fully. He is the great controller and also a servant of God, a Vaiṣṇava.

  3. 3

    While sustaining the universe, Anantadeva continually chants Kṛṣṇa’s unlimited glories. Chanting Lord Anantadeva’s glories cleanses the heart and brings liberation, so a Vaiṣṇava never misses an opportunity to glorify Him.

Key points from the purport
  • From Vedic literature we learn that when the Supreme Lord glances (sa aikṣata) over the material energy, the three modes of material nature become manifest and create material variety.
  • Before He glances over the material energy, there is no possibility of the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the material world.
  • Therefore how can any human being, however great a scientist or philosopher he may be, understand the ways of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?

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. utpattiof creation
  2. sthitimaintenance
  3. layaand dissolution
  4. hetavaḥthe original causes
  5. asyaof this material world
  6. kalpāḥcapable of acting
  7. sattva-ādyāḥheaded by the sattva-guṇa
  8. prakṛti-guṇāḥthe modes of material nature
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.25

    In this verse: “understand”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 5.25

    In this verse: “chants”, “glorify”

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

Can I respond to the Lord’s unlimited greatness with glorification rather than expecting to understand everything?

Practice

Read aloud one sentence from this verse’s purport that glorifies Lord Anantadeva.

5

Connected stories

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

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

Live this todayGlorify the Lord Whose Greatness Is UnlimitedThis 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 5.25.9? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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