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

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Canto 6 · Prescribed Duties for Mankind · 19 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 6 · Chapter 12: Vṛtrāsura’s Glorious Death
6.12.106.12.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.12.11

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vṛtrāsurasince 6.12.7inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

पुरुष: प्रकृतिर्व्यक्तमात्मा भूतेन्द्रियाशया: ।

शक्नुवन्त्यस्य सर्गादौ न विना यदनुग्रहात् ॥ ११ ॥

puruṣaḥ prakṛtir vyaktam

ātmā bhūtendriyāśayāḥ

śaknuvanty asya sargādau

na vinā yad-anugrahāt

Translation

The three puruṣas — Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu — the material nature, the total material energy, the false ego, the five material elements, the material senses, the mind, the intelligence and consciousness cannot create the material manifestation without the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Everything Depends on the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    Whatever we experience is a manifestation of the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These energies cannot create anything independently.

  2. 2

    Material nature produces moving and unmoving living beings only under the Lord’s direction. He is the origin of everything.

  3. 3

    The living entity is always controlled, never the independent controller. Thinking oneself an independent god is foolishness.

Key points from the purport
  • As confirmed in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṁ jagat: whatever manifestations we experience are nothing but various energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Only under the direction of the Lord, the Supreme Person, can prakṛti, which is manifested in twenty-four elements, create different situations for the living entity.
  • Therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin of everything, and no one is independent of Him.

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 6.12.11 quotesBG 9.10

This is also confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10): mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram.

The purport of SB 6.12.11 quotesBG 10.2

The Lord also says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.2), aham ādir hi devānām: “I am the origin of all the demigods.”

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

Danger → Fearless longing. A seeming enemy reveals the heart of a great devotee.

Chapters 11–13 of Canto 6: Vṛtrāsura's prayers and final battle. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 12: Vṛtrāsura’s Glorious Death

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead,” he said, “is the cause of victory and defeat. Not knowing that the Supreme Lord is the cause of all causes, fools and rascals try to take credit for victory or defeat themselves, but everything is actually under the control of the Lord.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.12
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. puruṣaḥthe generator of the total material energy
  2. prakṛtiḥthe material energy or material nature
  3. vyaktamthe principles of manifestation ( mahat-tattva)
  4. ātmāthe false ego
  5. bhūtathe five material elements
  6. indriyathe ten senses
  7. āśayāḥthe mind, intelligence and consciousness
  8. śaknuvantiare able
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.12

    In this verse: “material”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 6.12

    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

Where do I tend to forget my dependence on the Supreme Lord?

Practice

Notice one thing in nature today and remember that its energy works under the Supreme Lord’s direction.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

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 6.12's connections

Live this todayEverything Depends on the Supreme LordThis 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 6.12.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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