Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 15

Parīkṣit’s Comprehensive Inquiries and the Bhāgavata as Śabda-avatāra

Devanagari script

भूपातालककुब्व्योमग्रहनक्षत्रभूभृताम् । सरित्समुद्रद्वीपानां सम्भवश्चैतदोकसाम् ॥ १५ ॥

Transliteration

bhū-pātāla-kakub-vyoma- graha-nakṣatra-bhūbhṛtām sarit-samudra-dvīpānāṁ sambhavaś caitad-okasām

Translation

হে ব্ৰাহ্মণশ্ৰেষ্ঠ! দয়া কৰি এইটোও বৰ্ণনা কৰক—ভূৰ পৰা পাতাললৈকে লোকসমূহ, আকাশৰ চাৰি দিশ, ব্যোম, গ্ৰহ-নক্ষত্ৰ, পৰ্বত, নদী, সাগৰ আৰু দ্বীপসমূহ, আৰু তাত বাস কৰা নানা প্ৰকাৰৰ জীৱ—এই সকলোৰ সৃষ্টি কেনেকৈ হয়।

Synonyms

• भू-पाताल-ककुभ्-व्योम-ग्रह-नक्षत्र-भूभृताम्: of earth, nether regions, quarters, sky, planets, stars, and mountains
• भू-पाताल-ककुभ्-व्योम-ग्रह-नक्षत्र-भूभृताम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक) + पाताल (प्रातिपदिक) + ककुभ् (प्रातिपदिक) + व्योमन् (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक) + नक्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + भूभृत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन; समासः समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (earth, netherworld, directions, sky, planets, stars, mountains) — तेषाम् (of these)

• सरित्-समुद्र-द्वीपानाम्: of rivers, oceans, and islands
• सरित्-समुद्र-द्वीपानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक) + समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (rivers, oceans, islands)

• सम्भवः: origin/coming into being
• सम्भवः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम्भव (प्रातिपदिक) < sam-√भू (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• एतत्-ओकसाम्: of the dwellers of this (world-system)
• एतत्-ओकसाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + ओकस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (एतत् = ‘this’ + ओकस् = abode; ‘of the inhabitants of this (cosmos)’/‘of those whose abode is this’)

Purport

The inhabitants of different varieties of land, etc., are differently situated, and not all of them are equal in all respects. The inhabitants of the land are different from the inhabitants of the water or the sky, and similarly the inhabitants of the different planets and stars in the sky are also different from one another. By the laws of the Lord, no place is vacant, but the creatures of one particular place are different from those of other places. Even in human society the inhabitants of the jungles or the deserts are different from those of the cities and villages. They are so made according to different qualities of the modes of nature. Such adjustment by the laws of nature is not blind. There is a great plan behind the arrangement. Mahārāja Parīkṣit requests the great sage Śukadeva Gosvāmī to explain all these authoritatively, in accordance with proper understanding.

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the origin of planets, stars, and the earth?

This verse summarizes that Śukadeva Gosvāmī explains their sambhava (origin/manifestation) as part of the universe’s ordered creation—earth, lower regions, directions, sky, planets, stars, mountains, rivers, oceans, and islands.

Why is Śukadeva Gosvāmī describing cosmology to King Parīkṣit in Canto 2?

In the context of the Virāṭ-rūpa (universal form), cosmology helps Parīkṣit contemplate the Lord’s all-pervading greatness, strengthening remembrance of Bhagavān beyond bodily identification and fear of death.

How can Bhagavata cosmology be applied in modern devotional life?

Use it to cultivate humility and God-consciousness—seeing the vast universe as Bhagavān’s arrangement—thus reducing ego and anxiety while deepening bhakti through remembrance of His supremacy.