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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 16: King Citraketu Meets the Supreme Lord
6.16.366.16.38

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.16.37

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Citraketusince 6.16.34inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

क्षित्यादिभिरेष किलावृत:

सप्तभिर्दशगुणोत्तरैरण्डकोश: ।

यत्र पतत्यणुकल्प:

सहाण्डकोटिकोटिभिस्तदनन्त: ॥ ३७ ॥

kṣity-ādibhir eṣa kilāvṛtaḥ

saptabhir daśa-guṇottarair aṇḍa-kośaḥ

yatra pataty aṇu-kalpaḥ

sahāṇḍa-koṭi-koṭibhis tad anantaḥ

Translation

Every universe is covered by seven layers — earth, water, fire, air, sky, the total energy and false ego — each ten times greater than the previous one. There are innumerable universes besides this one, and although they are unlimitedly large, they move about like atoms in You. Therefore You are called unlimited [ananta].

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Potency Is Unlimited

  1. 1

    Each universe has seven coverings: earth, water, fire, air, sky, total material energy and false ego. Each covering is ten times greater than the previous one.

  2. 2

    Millions of universes arise when Mahā-Viṣṇu exhales and are annihilated when He inhales. Mahā-Viṣṇu is a portion of a plenary portion of Govinda, Kṛṣṇa.

  3. 3

    Innumerable vast universes move like atoms within the Lord. The entire material world manifests only one fourth of His energy, so He is called ananta, unlimited.

Key points from the purport
  • The first covering is earth, the second is water, the third is fire, the fourth is air, the fifth is sky, the sixth is the total material energy, and the seventh is the false ego.
  • Beginning with the covering of earth, each covering is ten times greater than the previous one.
  • Thus we can only imagine how great each universe is, and there are many millions of universes.

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· 1

The purport of SB 6.16.37 quotesBG 10.42

As confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (10.42): “But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge?

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

Parental grief → Detachment and surrender. A flashback discloses the devotional history behind Vṛtrāsura.

Chapters 14–17 of Canto 6: Citraketu's grief, realization and curse. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 16: King Citraketu Meets the Supreme Lord

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Therefore Nārada Muni advised Citraketu not to lament for his so-called dead son. After hearing instructions from their dead child, Citraketu and his wife could understand that all relationships in this material world are causes of misery.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kṣiti-ādibhiḥby the ingredients of the material world, headed by earth
  2. eṣaḥthis
  3. kilaindeed
  4. āvṛtaḥcovered
  5. saptabhiḥseven
  6. daśa-guṇa-uttaraiḥeach ten times more than the previous one
  7. aṇḍa-kośaḥegg-shaped universe
  8. yatrain whom
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

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “false ego”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “material”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does the vastness of the universes help you appreciate about the Lord’s unlimited potency?

Practice

Reread the translation slowly, then offer a brief prayer appreciating the Lord’s unlimited greatness.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Potency 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 6.16.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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