FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.4.46

तपो मे हृदयं ब्रह्मंस्तनुर्विद्या क्रियाकृति: । अङ्गानि क्रतवो जाता धर्म आत्मासव: सुरा: ॥ ४६ ॥
tapo me hṛdayaṁ brahmaṁs
[tapo me hridayam brahmams]
tanur vidyā kriyākṛtiḥ
[tanur vidyaa kriyaakritih]
aṅgāni kratavo jātā
[angaani kratavo jaataa]
dharma ātmāsavaḥ surāḥ
[dharma aatmaasavah suraah]
tapaḥ — austerities like mental control, mystic yoga and meditation me — My hṛdayam — heart brahman — O brāhmaṇa tanuḥ — the body vidyā — the knowledge derived from Vedic scripture kriyā — spiritual activities ākṛtiḥ — form aṅgāni — the limbs of the body kratavaḥ — the ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices mentioned in the Vedic literature jātāḥ — completed dharmaḥ — the religious principles for executing the ritualistic ceremonies ātmā — My soul asavaḥ — life airs surāḥ — the demigods who execute My orders in different departments of the material world.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tapo me hṛdayaṁ brahmaṁs
tapaḥ
austerities like mental control, mystic yoga and meditation
me
My
hṛdayam
heart
brahman
O brāhmaṇa
tanur vidyā kriyākṛtiḥ
tanuḥ
the body
vidyā
the knowledge derived from Vedic scripture
kriyā
spiritual activities
ākṛtiḥ
form
aṅgāni kratavo jātā
aṅgāni
the limbs of the body
kratavaḥ
the ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices mentioned in the Vedic literature
jātāḥ
completed
dharma ātmāsavaḥ surāḥ
dharmaḥ
the religious principles for executing the ritualistic ceremonies
ātmā
My soul
asavaḥ
life airs
surāḥ
the demigods who execute My orders in different departments of the material world.
My dear brāhmaṇa, austerity in the form of meditation is My heart, Vedic knowledge in the form of hymns and mantras constitutes My body, and spiritual activities and ecstatic emotions are My actual form. The ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices, when properly conducted, are the various limbs of My body, the unseen good fortune proceeding from pious or spiritual activities constitutes My mind, and the demigods who execute My orders in various departments are My life and soul.

Sometimes atheists argue that since God is invisible to their eyes, they do not believe in God. For them the Supreme Lord is describing a method by which one can see God in His impersonal form. Intelligent persons can see God in His personal form, as stated in the śāstras, but if one is very eager to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead immediately, face to face, he can see the Supreme Lord through this description, which portrays the various internal and external parts of His body.

To engage in tapasya, or denial of material activities, is the first principle of spiritual life. Then there are spiritual activities, such as the performance of Vedic ritualistic sacrifices, study of the Vedic knowledge, meditation upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. One should also respect the demigods and understand how they are situated, how they act and how they manage the activities of the various departments of this material world. In this way one can see how God is existing and how everything is managed perfectly because of the presence of the Supreme Lord. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10) :

mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram hetunānena kaunteya jagad viparivartate

“This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and nonmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.” If one is unable to see the Supreme Lord although He is present as Kṛṣṇa in His various incarnations, one may see the Supreme Lord’s impersonal feature, according to the direction of the Vedas, by seeing the activities of material nature.

Anything done under the direction of the Vedic injunctions is called dharma, as described by the order carriers of Yamarāja ( Bhāg. 6.1.40 ):

veda-praṇihito dharmo hy adharmas tad-viparyayaḥ vedo nārāyaṇaḥ sākṣāt svayambhūr iti śuśruma

“That which is prescribed in the Vedas constitutes dharma, the religious principles, and the opposite of that is irreligion. The Vedas are directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, and are self-born. This we have heard from Yamarāja.”

In this connection, Śrīla Madhvācārya comments:

tapo ’bhimānī rudras tu viṣṇor hṛdayam āśritaḥ vidyā rūpā tathaivomā viṣṇos tanum upāśritā

śṛṅgārādy-ākṛti-gataḥ kriyātmā pāka-śāsanaḥ aṅgeṣu kratavaḥ sarve madhya-dehe ca dharma-rāṭ prāṇo vāyuś citta-gato brahmādyāḥ sveṣu devatāḥ

The various demigods are all acting under the protection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and according to their various actions the demigods are differently named.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O brāhmaṇa! Austerity is my heart, Vedic knowledge in the form of hymns and mantras constitutes my body, and daily and occasional rites are my form. Sacrifices are the various limbs of my body. The unseen good fortune proceeding from sacrifice constitutes my mind, and the devatās are my life airs. Hear of my form according to karma-yoga. Austerity in the form of yama and niyama is my heart. Knowledge with chanting of mantras is my body. Daily and occasional rites are my form. Sacrifices are (jātāḥ) my limbs or head. The results generated from sacrifice are my mind. My life airs are the devatās. All these actions such as austerity are vibhūtis of my body of eternity, knowledge and bliss.
Related verses
Meditative austerity is the Lord's heart, Vedic knowledge His body, devotional emotion His actual form, and properly performed sacrifice His limbs. Spiritual practice is not adjacent to Him — it is Him.
Reflection Questions
  • Which 'part of Him' (austerity, study, emotion, ritual) am I currently neglecting?
  • What practice would touch the Lord's heart specifically?
📝 My note

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