1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 9 · Liberation · 24 chapters

123456789101112131415161718192021222324

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 9 · Chapter 11: Lord Rāmacandra Rules the World
9.10.559.11.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.11.1

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 9.11.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीशुक उवाच

भगवानात्मनात्मानं राम उत्तमकल्पकै: ।

सर्वदेवमयं देवमीजेऽथाचार्यवान् मखै: ॥ १ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca

bhagavān ātmanātmānaṁ

rāma uttama-kalpakaiḥ

sarva-devamayaṁ devam

īje ’thācāryavān makhaiḥ

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thereafter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Rāmacandra, accepted an ācārya and performed sacrifices [yajñas] with opulent paraphernalia. Thus He Himself worshiped Himself, for He is the Supreme Lord of all demigods.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Worshiping the Supreme Lord Satisfies Everyone

  1. 1

    Lord Rāmacandra accepted an ācārya and performed sacrifices with opulent offerings. As the Supreme Lord of all demigods, He was worshiping Himself.

  2. 2

    Worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead satisfies everyone, just as watering a tree’s root nourishes its branches and leaves.

  3. 3

    The living entity is always different from the Supreme Lord and should not imitate His worship of Himself. Lord Kṛṣṇa meditated upon Himself, but this does not authorize us to consider ourselves the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • Here the Supreme Lord worshiped the Supreme Lord.
  • Therefore it is said, bhagavān ātmanātmānam īje: the Lord worshiped Himself by Himself.
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa meditated upon Himself every morning as a gṛhastha, and similarly Lord Rāmacandra performed yajñas to satisfy Himself, but this does not mean that an ordinary living being should imitate the Lord by accepting the process of ahaṅgrahopāsanā.

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 9.11.1 quotesSB 4.31.14

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.31.14): “As pouring water on the root of a tree nourishes the trunk, branches, twigs and leaves, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead satisfies the demigods, who are part of that Supreme Personality.”

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

Exile and separation → Loyalty and reunion. Duty, loss and sacrifice shape the dramatic center of this canto.

Chapters 10–12 of Canto 9: The pastimes of Lord Rāmacandra. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 11: Lord Rāmacandra Rules the World

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Lord Rāmacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, performed various sacrifices by which to worship Himself, and at the end of these sacrifices He gave land to the hotā, adhvaryu, udgātā and brahmā priests. He gave them the eastern, western, northern and southern directions respectively, and the balance He gave to the ācārya.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 9.11
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-śukaḥ uvācaŚrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
  2. bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  3. ātmanāby Himself
  4. ātmānamHimself
  5. rāmaḥLord Rāmacandra
  6. uttama-kalpakaiḥwith very opulent paraphernalia
  7. sarva-deva-mayamthe heart and soul of all the demigods
  8. devamthe Supreme Lord Himself
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 9.11

    In this verse: “worshiped”, “worshiping”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the example of watering a tree’s root help me understand worship of the Supreme Lord?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer to the Supreme Lord, remembering that you are His worshiper, not His equal.

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 4.31.14

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 9.11's connections

Live this todayWorshiping the Supreme Lord Satisfies EveryoneThis 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 9.11.1? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories