1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 chapters

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 26: A Description of the Hellish Planets
5.26.396.1.1

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.26.40

Sthāna· The universe in order
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.26.5inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

भूद्वीपवर्षसरिदद्रिनभ:समुद्र-

पातालदिङ्‌नरकभागणलोकसंस्था ।

गीता मया तव नृपाद्भ‍ुतमीश्वरस्य

स्थूलं वपु: सकलजीवनिकायधाम ॥ ४० ॥

तस्मात् सङ्कीर्तनं विष्णोर्जगन्मङ्गलमंहसाम् ।

महतामपि कौरव्य विद्ध्यैकान्तिकनिष्कृतम् ॥ ३१ ॥

bhū-dvīpa-varṣa-sarid-adri-nabhaḥ-samudra-

pātāla-diṅ-naraka-bhāgaṇa-loka-saṁsthā

gītā mayā tava nṛpādbhutam īśvarasya

sthūlaṁ vapuḥ sakala-jīva-nikāya-dhāma

Translation

My dear King, I have now described for you this planet earth, other planetary systems, and their lands [varṣas], rivers and mountains. I have also described the sky, the oceans, the lower planetary systems, the directions, the hellish planetary systems and the stars. These constitute the virāṭ-rūpa, the gigantic material form of the Lord, on which all living entities repose. Thus I have explained the wonderful expanse of the external body of the Lord.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Recognizing the Lord’s Material and Spiritual Forms

  1. 1

    The earth, planetary systems, rivers, mountains, oceans and stars constitute the virāṭ-rūpa, the Lord’s gigantic material form. This wonderful expanse is His external body, on which all living entities repose.

  2. 2

    The supplementary note explains that Ṛṣabhadeva is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His body is spiritual. His transcendental activities cannot be understood as ordinary material acts or imitated by a common person.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose transcendental nature is not understood by those who consider His form ordinary and human. Ṛṣabhadeva showed the path of spiritual perfection; following His teachings, rather than imitating His extraordinary activities, keeps us directed toward devotional service.

Key points from the purport
  • Ṛṣabhadeva is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His body is spiritual (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha).
  • Therefore Ṛṣabhadeva has directly explained that His own body belongs to the spiritual platform.
  • It is also stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that the stool and urine of Ṛṣabhadeva were full of transcendental fragrance.

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· 3

The purport of SB 5.26.40 quotesSB 5.6.11

In this Fifth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.6.11) the illusioned and bewildered state of the materialists of this age is fully described.

The purport of SB 5.26.40 quotesBG 9.11

This is also confirmed by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā (9.11): “Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form.

The purport of SB 5.26.40 quotesSB 5.6.8

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.6.8), dāvānalas tad vanam ālelihānaḥ saha tena dadāha: at the conclusion of Ṛṣabhadeva’s pastimes, an entire forest and the Lord’s body were burned to ashes in a great forest fire.

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

Moral dread → Wakefulness. Consequences of action are rendered emotionally vivid.

Chapter 26 of Canto 5: The hellish planets. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 26: A Description of the Hellish Planets

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

After describing the hellish planets, Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes how pious persons are elevated to the highest planetary system, where the demigods live, and how they then come back again to this earth when the results of their pious activities are finished. Finally he describes the universal form of the Lord and glorifies the Lord’s activities.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.26
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. bhūof this planet earth
  2. dvīpaand other different planetary systems
  3. varṣaof tracts of land
  4. saritrivers
  5. adrimountains
  6. nabhaḥthe sky
  7. samudraoceans
  8. pātālalower planets
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 5.26

    In this verse: “material”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.26

    In this verse: “king”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 5.26

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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

How can I appreciate the Lord’s material creation without thinking that His own form is material?

Practice

Today, look at the sky and recall that it belongs to the Lord’s external body. Then reread the explanation that His own form is spiritual, with a desire to understand and serve Him.

5

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 5.6.11SB 5.6.8

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 5.26's connections

Live this todayRecognizing the Lord’s Material and Spiritual FormsThis 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 5.26.40? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories