FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.10.9

एतावाञ्जीवलोकस्य संस्थाभेद: समाहृत: । धर्मस्य ह्यनिमित्तस्य विपाक: परमेष्ठ्यसौ ॥ ९ ॥
etāvāṣ jīva-lokasya
[etaavaash jeeva-lokasya]
saṁsthā-bhedaḥ samāhṛtaḥ
[samsthaa-bhedah samaahritah]
dharmasya hy animittasya
[dharmasya hy animittasya]
vipākaḥ parameṣṭhy asau
[vipaakah parameshthy asau]
etāvān — up to this jīva-lokasya — of the planets inhabited by the living entities saṁsthā-bhedaḥ — different situations of habitation samāhṛtaḥ — performed completely dharmasya — of religion hi — certainly animittasya — of causelessness vipākaḥ — mature stage parameṣṭhī — the highest personality in the universe asau — that.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
etāvāṣ jīva-lokasya
etāvān
up to this
jīva-lokasya
of the planets inhabited by the living entities
saṁsthā-bhedaḥ samāhṛtaḥ
saṁsthā-bhedaḥ
different situations of habitation
samāhṛtaḥ
performed completely
dharmasya hy animittasya
dharmasya
of religion
hi
certainly
animittasya
of causelessness
vipākaḥ parameṣṭhy asau
vipākaḥ
mature stage
parameṣṭhī
the highest personality in the universe
asau
that.
Lord Brahmā is the most exalted personality in the universe because of his causeless devotional service unto the Lord in mature transcendental knowledge. He therefore created all the fourteen planetary divisions for inhabitation by the different types of living entities.

The Supreme Lord is the reservoir of all the qualities of the living entities. The conditioned souls in the material world reflect only part of those qualities, and therefore they are sometimes called pratibimbas. These pratibimba living entities, as parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, have inherited different proportions of His original qualities, and in terms of their inheritance of these qualities, they appear as different species of life and are accommodated in different planets according to the plan of Brahmā. Brahmā is the creator of the three worlds, namely the lower planets, called the Pātālalokas, the middle planets, called the Bhūrlokas, and the upper planets, called the Svarlokas. Still higher planets, such as Maharloka, Tapoloka, Satyaloka and Brahmaloka, do not dissolve in the devastating water. This is because of the causeless devotional service rendered unto the Lord by their inhabitants, whose existence continues up to the end of dvi-parārdha time, when they are generally liberated from the chain of birth and death in the material world.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The production of the various places suitable for the fourteen types of jīvas was entrusted to Brahmā because he was mature in mediation and worship without material desires and could therefore carry out creation. The production of particular places (samṣthā-bhedaḥ) suitable for the particular individual bodies and the parts of the universal form was entrusted to Brahmā because (hi) Brahmā was mature in meditation and worship using mantra (dharmasya) without material desire (animittasya). What is impossible with the strength of such meditation?
The scale of the creation in this verse is not given to overwhelm us but to right-size us. Most of our anxiety shrinks when our self-importance shrinks. The verse anchors this in transcendental knowledge.
Reflection Questions
  • Where have you been demanding outcomes from a system you did not design?
  • What would humility actually look like for you in your work this week?
📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 10