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

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Canto 7 · The Science of God · 15 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 7 · Chapter 15: Instructions for Civilized Human Beings
7.15.567.15.58

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.15.57

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 7.15.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

आदावन्ते जनानां सद् बहिरन्त: परावरम् ।

ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं वचो वाच्यं तमो ज्योतिस्त्वयं स्वयम् ॥ ५७ ॥

ādāv ante janānāṁ sad

bahir antaḥ parāvaram

jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ vaco vācyaṁ

tamo jyotis tv ayaṁ svayam

Translation

He who exists internally and externally, at the beginning and end of everything and of all living beings, as that which is enjoyable and as the enjoyer of everything, superior and inferior, is the Supreme Truth. He always exists as knowledge and the object of knowledge, as expression and the object of understanding, as darkness and as light. Thus He, the Supreme Lord, is everything.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Cause of Everything

  1. 1

    The Supreme Lord exists at the beginning, maintains everything after creation, and remains after destruction. Everything ultimately merges in Him.

  2. 2

    In the conditioned state, our understanding is bewildered. In the perfect stage of liberation, we understand that Kṛṣṇa is the cause of everything.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa, known as Govinda, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and supreme controller, with an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He has no origin and is the cause of all causes; understanding this is the perfection of knowledge.

Key points from the purport
  • Here the Vedic aphorism sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma is explained.
  • The Supreme Lord existed in the beginning, He exists after the creation and maintains everything, and after destruction everything merges in Him, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām).
  • In the conditioned state, we are bewildered in our understanding, but in the perfect stage of liberation we can understand that Kṛṣṇa is the cause of everything.

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

Seriousness → Principled living. The example of bhakti becomes a guide to daily life.

Chapters 11–15 of Canto 7: Teachings on social and spiritual conduct. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 15: Instructions for Civilized Human Beings

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Such a devotee, even though not performing ritualistic ceremonies, advances in spiritual consciousness by the supreme will of the Personality of Godhead. One may actually become successful in spiritual consciousness by the mercy of devotees, or one may fall from spiritual consciousness by being disrespectful to devotees.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.15
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ādauin the beginning
  2. anteat the end
  3. janānāmof all living entities
  4. satalways existing
  5. bahiḥexternally
  6. antaḥinternally
  7. paratranscendental
  8. avarammaterial
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 7.15

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understanding”

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 would remembering Kṛṣṇa as the cause of everything change my outlook today?

Practice

Pause once today to acknowledge Kṛṣṇa as the source and maintainer of everything around you.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the Cause of EverythingThis 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.

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