FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.12.22

मरीचिरत्र्याङ्गिरसौ पुलस्त्य: पुलह: क्रतु: । भृगुर्वसिष्ठो दक्षश्च दशमस्तत्र नारद: ॥ २२ ॥
marīcir atry-aṅgirasau
[mareechir atry-angirasau]
pulastyaḥ pulahaḥ kratuḥ
[pulastyah pulahah kratuh]
bhṛgur vasiṣṭho dakṣaś ca
[bhrigur vasishtho dakshash cha]
daśamas tatra nāradaḥ
[dashamas tatra naaradah]
marīciḥ, atri, aṅgirasau, pulastyaḥ, pulahaḥ, kratuḥ, bhṛguḥ, vasiṣṭhaḥ, dakṣaḥ — names of sons of Brahmā ca — and daśamaḥ — the tenth tatra — there nāradaḥ — Nārada.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
marīcir atry-aṅgirasau
marīciḥ, atri, aṅgirasau, pulastyaḥ, pulahaḥ, kratuḥ, bhṛguḥ, vasiṣṭhaḥ, dakṣaḥ
names of sons of Brahmā
pulastyaḥ pulahaḥ kratuḥ
bhṛgur vasiṣṭho dakṣaś ca
ca
and
daśamas tatra nāradaḥ
daśamaḥ
the tenth
tatra
there
nāradaḥ
Nārada.
Marīci, Atri, Aṅgirā, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhṛgu, Vasiṣṭha, Dakṣa, and the tenth son, Nārada, were thus born.

The whole process of the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the cosmic manifestation is meant to give the conditioned souls a chance to go back home, back to Godhead. Brahmā created Rudra to help him in his creative endeavor, but from the very beginning Rudra began to devour the whole creation, and thus he had to be stopped from such devastating activities. Brahmā therefore created another set of good children, who were mostly in favor of worldly fruitive activities. He knew very well, however, that without devotional service to the Lord there is hardly any benefit for the conditioned souls, and therefore he at last created his worthy son Nārada, who is the supreme spiritual master of all transcendentalists. Without devotional service to the Lord one cannot make progress in any department of activity, although the path of devotional service is always independent of anything material. Only the transcendental loving service of the Lord can deliver the real goal of life, and thus the service rendered by Śrīman Nārada Muni is the highest among all the sons of Brahmā.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Marīci, Atri, Aṅgirā, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhṛgu, Vasiṣṭha, Dakṣa, and the tenth son, Nārada, appeared. This verse describes how Marīci and others appeared as representatives of karma –yoga. Jñāna, vairāgya, tapas, yoga and karma only become successful by performance of bhakti, and bhakti on the other hand does not dependent on these processes. It gives all results. It is the very form of all results. Thus bhakti is represented at the end, and appeared in the form of Nārada.
The verse describes a universe that is not a random stage but an arrangement with a purpose. Our work is not to engineer that purpose but to find our seat within it. The verse anchors this in devotional service to the Lord.
Reflection Questions
  • How does it change your day to remember the universe was not built around your preferences?
  • What would humility actually look like for you in your work this week?
📝 My note

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