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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.4.30

Who is speaking and story frame

यस्मिन्यतो येन च यस्य यस्मै

यद्यो यथा कुरुते कार्यते च ।

परावरेषां परमं प्राक् प्रसिद्धं

तद् ब्रह्म तद्धेतुरनन्यदेकम् ॥ ३० ॥

yasmin yato yena ca yasya yasmai

yad yo yathā kurute kāryate ca

parāvareṣāṁ paramaṁ prāk prasiddhaṁ

tad brahma tad dhetur ananyad ekam

Translation

The Supreme Brahman, Kṛṣṇa, is the ultimate resting place and source of everything. Everything is done by Him, everything belongs to Him, and everything is offered to Him. He is the ultimate objective, and whether acting or causing others to act, He is the ultimate doer. There are many causes, high and low, but since He is the cause of all causes, He is well known as the Supreme Brahman who existed before all activities. He is one without a second and has no other cause. I therefore offer my respects unto Him.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Cause of All Causes

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the original cause of everything. Even the material world, conducted under the modes of nature, has its source in Him.

  2. 2

    Govinda has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all, but He Himself has no origin or cause.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa has no equal, and His many forms are nondifferent from Him. Everything belongs to Him, everything is offered to Him, and He is the ultimate objective.

Key points from the purport
  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the original cause, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ).
  • Therefore we hear, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ: if one knows that Vāsudeva is the original cause of all causes, he becomes a perfect mahātmā.
  • The Supreme Brahman (tad brahma) is the cause of all causes, but He has no cause.

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

Anger and conflict → Spiritual commitment. Competing understandings of duty create relational tension.

Chapters 4–6 of Canto 6: Dakṣa, Nārada and the consequences of preaching. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 4: The Haṁsa-guhya Prayers Offered to the Lord by Prajāpati Dakṣa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

“The Supreme Brahman is the cause of all causes because He originally existed before the creation. He is the original cause of everything, both material and spiritual, and His existence is independent.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.4
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yasminin whom (the Supreme Personality of Godhead or the supreme place of repose)
  2. yataḥfrom whom (everything emanates)
  3. yenaby whom (everything is enacted)
  4. caalso
  5. yasyato whom everything belongs
  6. yasmaito whom (everything is offered)
  7. yatwhich
  8. yaḥwho
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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 6.4

    In this verse: “material”

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 might remembering that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa change my attitude toward what I use today?

Practice

Choose one thing you use today and pause to acknowledge Kṛṣṇa as its ultimate source and owner.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the Cause of All CausesThis 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 6.4.30? Get an answer from the verses themselves.