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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
6.16.506.16.52

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.16.51

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Anantadevasince 6.16.50inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अहं वै सर्वभूतानि भूतात्मा भूतभावन: ।

शब्दब्रह्म परं ब्रह्म ममोभे शाश्वती तनू ॥ ५१ ॥

ahaṁ vai sarva-bhūtāni

bhūtātmā bhūta-bhāvanaḥ

śabda-brahma paraṁ brahma

mamobhe śāśvatī tanū

Translation

All living entities, moving and nonmoving, are My expansions and are separate from Me. I am the Supersoul of all living beings, who exist because I manifest them. I am the form of the transcendental vibrations like oṁkāra and Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Rāma, and I am the Supreme Absolute Truth. These two forms of Mine — namely, the transcendental sound and the eternally blissful spiritual form of the Deity, are My eternal forms; they are not material.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Eternal Forms and Guidance

  1. 1

    By following the spiritual master’s instructions in devotional service, one advances step by step toward love of Godhead. The Supreme Lord within the heart gives the devotee intelligence to approach Him.

  2. 2

    Both the living entities and the physical elements are energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Supersoul, He guides living beings; we cannot act independently of Him.

  3. 3

    Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Absolute Truth. His transcendental sound and His eternally blissful Deity form are eternal, not material.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore the Lord is now instructing him in the essence of knowledge.
  • Herein it is said, ahaṁ vai sarva-bhūtāni: the Lord is everything (sarva-bhūtāni), including the living entities and the material or physical elements.
  • The living entity tries to lord it over the material or physical elements, but both the physical elements and the spiritual spark are energies emanating from 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.

Connected verses· 5

The purport of SB 6.16.51 quotesSB 1.2.11

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.11): “Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.”

The purport of SB 6.16.51 quotesBG 4.17

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.17): “The intricacies of action are very hard to understand.

The purport of SB 6.16.51 quotesBG 7.4

As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5):

The purport of SB 6.16.51 quotesBG 15.15

This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15).

Quoted in the purport ofSB 11.3.43

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.16.51) the Lord says, śabda-brahma paraṁ brahma mamobhe śāśvatī tanū: “I am the form of the transcendental vibrations of the Vedas, such as oṁkāra and Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Rāma, and I am the Supreme Absolute Truth.

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:

These instructions about the Absolute Truth are called the mahā-vidyā. After being initiated by Nārada Muni, King Citraketu chanted the mahā-vidyā, and after one week he attained the presence of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa, who was surrounded by the four Kumāras.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.16
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ahamI
  2. vaiindeed
  3. sarva-bhūtāniexpanded in different forms of living entities
  4. bhūta-ātmāthe Supersoul of all living entities (the supreme director and enjoyer of them)
  5. bhūta-bhāvanaḥthe cause for the manifestation of all living entities
  6. śabda-brahmathe transcendental sound vibration (the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra)
  7. param brahmathe Supreme Absolute Truth
  8. mamaMy
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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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “absolute truth”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotee”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might knowing that the Lord’s holy name is His eternal form deepen my attention while chanting?

Practice

Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Rāma attentively for one minute, remembering that this transcendental sound is a form of the Lord.

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 6.16's connections

Live this todayThe Lord’s Eternal Forms and GuidanceThis 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 6.16.51? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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