Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 21

Rāhu, Eclipses, Antarikṣa, and the Seven Subterranean Heavens

Bila-svarga

Devanagari script

तद्भ‍क्तानामात्मवतां सर्वेषामात्मन्यात्मद आत्मतयैव ॥ २१ ॥

Transliteration

tad bhaktānām ātmavatāṁ sarveṣām ātmany ātmada ātmatayaiva.

Translation

Para tales devotos autorrealizados, el Bhagavān que mora en el corazón de todos como Paramātmā se entrega a Sí mismo como su propio Ser.

Synonyms

• tat: that
• tat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; demonstrative ‘that’ (referring to preceding)

• bhaktānām: of devotees
• bhaktānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• ātmavatām: of the self-possessed
• ātmavatām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātmavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; ‘self-possessed/possessing the Self’

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंस, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; ‘of all’

• ātmani: in the Self
• ātmani: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• ātmada: O giver of the Self
• ātmada: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (vocative-like address possible); उपपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘आत्मानं ददाति’ (giver of the Self)

• ātmatayā: as one’s very self
• ātmatayā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātmatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; abstract noun ‘as selfhood/identity’

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphasis): ‘indeed/alone’

Purport

The Lord became Bali Mahārāja’s doorkeeper not because of his giving everything to the Lord, but because of his exalted position as a lover of the Lord.

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about realizing Paramatma within the heart?

This verse says that for the Lord’s devotees, He is realized within the heart as the very Self—directly experienced as the indwelling reality.

Why does Śukadeva Gosvāmī describe the Lord as ātma-da (giver of the self)?

Because the Lord grants true spiritual selfhood—awakening the soul’s real identity and enabling inner realization of Him as the indwelling Self.

Practical application of seeing the Lord as the Self in modern life?

Cultivate devotion and self-discipline so that daily choices align with inner conscience, humility, and steady remembrance of the Lord within.