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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 6.4.32

Who is speaking and story frame

अस्तीति नास्तीति च वस्तुनिष्ठयो-

रेकस्थयोर्भिन्नविरुद्धधर्मणो: ।

अवेक्षितं किञ्चन योगसाङ्ख्ययो:

समं परं ह्यनुकूलं बृहत्तत् ॥ ३२ ॥

astīti nāstīti ca vastu-niṣṭhayor

eka-sthayor bhinna-viruddha-dharmaṇoḥ

avekṣitaṁ kiñcana yoga-sāṅkhyayoḥ

samaṁ paraṁ hy anukūlaṁ bṛhat tat

Translation

There are two parties — namely, the theists and the atheists. The theist, who accepts the Supersoul, finds the spiritual cause through mystic yoga. The Sāṅkhyite, however, who merely analyzes the material elements, comes to a conclusion of impersonalism and does not accept a supreme cause — whether Bhagavān, Paramātmā or even Brahman. Instead, he is preoccupied with the superfluous, external activities of material nature. Ultimately, however, both parties demonstrate the Absolute Truth because although they offer opposing statements, their object is the same ultimate cause. They are both approaching the same Supreme Brahman, to whom I offer my respectful obeisances.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotion Reveals the Lord’s Spiritual Form

  1. 1

    The Absolute Truth is one, known as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Although personalists and impersonalists argue, their central subject is the same Absolute Truth.

  2. 2

    Statements denying the Lord’s hands and legs deny material limbs, not His spiritual form. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has a form of eternity, knowledge and bliss.

  3. 3

    The Lord is known through devotional service. Taking shelter of the path of devotion makes His spiritual nature clear and leads toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate goal.

Key points from the purport
  • Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate: the Absolute Truth is one, but some accept Him as impersonal Brahman, some as the Supersoul existing everywhere, and some as Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Actually such statements accept that the Supreme has hands and legs, but deny that He has material hands and legs.
  • The conception of the Absolute without hands and legs and the conception of the Absolute with hands and legs are apparently contradictory, but they both coincide with the same truth about the Supreme Absolute Person.

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 6.4.32 quotesSB 12.13.1

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.13.1), dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ.

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

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:

He is the original cause of everything, both material and spiritual, and His existence is independent. However, the Lord has a potency called avidyā, the illusory energy, which induces the false arguer to think himself perfect and which induces the illusory energy to bewilder the conditioned soul.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. astithere is
  2. itithus
  3. nanot
  4. astithere is
  5. itithus
  6. caand
  7. vastu-niṣṭhayoḥprofessing knowledge of the ultimate cause
  8. eka-sthayoḥwith one and the same subject matter, establishing Brahman
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 6.4

    In this verse: “absolute truth”, “knowledge”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.4

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 6.4

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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 Kṛṣṇa’s form is spiritual help me approach Him with devotion?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer to Kṛṣṇa today, remembering His eternal spiritual form and asking to understand Him through devotional service.

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.

The purport quotesSB 12.13.1

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 6.4's connections

Live this todayDevotion Reveals the Lord’s Spiritual FormThis 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 6.4.32? Get an answer from the verses themselves.