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

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Canto 8 · Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations · 24 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 8 · Chapter 12: The Mohinī-mūrti Incarnation Bewilders Lord Śiva
8.12.48.12.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.12.5

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Mahādevasince 8.12.4inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

आद्यन्तावस्य यन्मध्यमिदमन्यदहं बहि: । यतोऽव्ययस्य नैतानि तत् सत्यं ब्रह्म चिद्‌भवान् ॥ ५ ॥

ādy-antāv asya yan madhyam

idam anyad ahaṁ bahiḥ

yato ’vyayasya naitāni

tat satyaṁ brahma cid bhavān

Translation

The manifest, the unmanifest, false ego and the beginning, maintenance and annihilation of this cosmic manifestation all come from You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But because You are the Absolute Truth, the supreme absolute spirit soul, the Supreme Brahman, such changes as birth, death and sustenance do not exist in You.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Remains Complete and Inexhaustible

  1. 1

    Everything emanates from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The ingredients of the cosmic manifestation are His energies.

  2. 2

    Although countless complete units emanate from Him, the Lord remains complete. He is called avyaya, changeless and inexhaustible.

  3. 3

    A clear understanding of the Absolute Truth requires accepting acintya-bhedābheda, simultaneous oneness and difference. Everything comes from the Lord, yet He remains the fully spiritual Supreme Brahman.

Key points from the purport
  • According to the Vedic mantras, yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante: everything is an emanation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • In other words, the ingredients of the cosmic manifestation also consist of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Because the Supreme Lord is avyaya, He is the Absolute Truth, the fully spiritual Supreme Brahman.

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 8.12.5 quotesBG 7.4

As stated by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4): “Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego — all together these eight comprise My separated material energies.”

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

Danger and ambition → Divine rescue and surprise. Cooperation, rivalry and revelation alternate rapidly.

Chapters 5–12 of Canto 8: Churning the ocean, poison and nectar. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 12: The Mohinī-mūrti Incarnation Bewilders Lord Śiva

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When Lord Śiva heard about the pastimes performed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, in the form of an attractive woman, he mounted his bull and went to see the Lord. Accompanied by his wife, Umā, and his servants, the bhūta-gaṇa, or ghosts, he approached the lotus feet of the Lord.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.12
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ādithe beginning
  2. antauand the end
  3. asyaof this manifested cosmos or of anything material or visible
  4. yatthat which
  5. madhyambetween the beginning and the end, the sustenance
  6. idamthis cosmic manifestation
  7. anyatanything other than You
  8. ahamthe wrong mental conception
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 8.12

    In this verse: “absolute truth”, “spirit soul”, “understanding”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 8.12

    In this verse: “false ego”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 8.12

    In this verse: “death”

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

What does it mean to you that the Lord gives rise to everything without becoming diminished?

Practice

Write one sentence in your own words explaining why the Lord remains complete.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Remains Complete and InexhaustibleThis 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 8.12.5? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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