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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 3: Ṛṣabhadeva’s Appearance in the Womb of Merudevī, the Wife of King Nābhi
5.3.165.3.18

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.3.17

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 5.3.17inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीभगवानुवाच

अहो बताहमृषयो भवद्भ‍िरवितथगीर्भिर्वरमसुलभमभियाचितो यदमुष्यात्मजो मया सद‍ृशो भूयादिति ममाहमेवाभिरूप: कैवल्यादथापि ब्रह्मवादो न मृषा भवितुमर्हति ममैव हि मुखं यद् द्विजदेवकुलम् ॥ १७ ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

aho batāham ṛṣayo bhavadbhir avitatha-gīrbhir varam asulabham abhiyācito yad amuṣyātmajo mayā sadṛśo bhūyād iti mamāham evābhirūpaḥ kaivalyād athāpi brahma-vādo na mṛṣā bhavitum arhati mamaiva hi mukhaṁ yad dvija-deva-kulam.

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead replied: O great sages, I am certainly very pleased with your prayers. You are all truthful. You have prayed for the benediction of a son like Me for King Nābhi, but this is very difficult to obtain. Since I am the Supreme Person without a second and since no one is equal to Me, another personality like Me is not possible to find. In any case, because you are all qualified brāhmaṇas, your vibrations should not prove untrue. I consider the brāhmaṇas who are well qualified with brahminical qualities to be as good as My own mouth.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Supreme Lord Has No Equal

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is one without a second. No one is equal to Him or greater than Him.

  2. 2

    God does not belong exclusively to one religious sect. He is one, though people appreciate Him from different angles of vision.

  3. 3

    The Lord honored the truthful words of the highly qualified brāhmaṇas. He considers brāhmaṇas with genuine brahminical qualities to be as good as His own mouth.

Key points from the purport
  • The word avitatha-gīrbhiḥ means “they whose spoken vibrations cannot be nullified.”
  • Whatever a brāhmaṇa speaks cannot be nullified or changed in any circumstance.
  • According to the Vedic injunctions, a brāhmaṇa is the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore in all rituals a brāhmaṇa is offered food (brāhmaṇa-bhojana) because when a brāhmaṇa eats, it is considered that the Supreme Lord Himself eats.

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

Responsibility → Renunciation. Leadership is set beside the renounced ideal.

Chapters 1–6 of Canto 5: Priyavrata and Ṛṣabhadeva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 3: Ṛṣabhadeva’s Appearance in the Womb of Merudevī, the Wife of King Nābhi

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Being very kind to His devotees, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was very pleased with the austerities of Mahārāja Nābhi. He personally appeared before the King in His four-handed feature, and the priests who were performing the sacrifices, began to offer their prayers unto Him.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.3
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-bhagavān uvācathe Supreme Personality of Godhead said
  2. ahoalas
  3. batacertainly I am pleased
  4. ahamI
  5. ṛṣayaḥO great sages
  6. bhavadbhiḥby you
  7. avitatha-gīrbhiḥwhose words are all true
  8. varamfor a benediction
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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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.3

    In this verse: “king”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 5.3

    In this verse: “religious”

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 does knowing that God is one affect my view of different religious communities?

Practice

Reflect for one minute on the teaching that the Supreme Lord has no equal or competitor.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Supreme Lord Has No EqualThis 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 5.3.17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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