SB 12.6.37 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

सूत उवाच समाहितात्मनो ब्रह्मन् ब्रह्मण: परमेष्ठिन: । हृद्याकाशादभून्नादो वृत्तिरोधाद् विभाव्यते ॥ ३७ ॥

Verse text

sūta uvāca samāhitātmano brahman brahmaṇaḥ parameṣṭhinaḥ hṛdy ākāśād abhūn nādo vṛtti-rodhād vibhāvyate

Synonyms

sūtaḥ uvāca — Sūta Gosvāmī said ; samāhita — ātmanaḥ — whose mind was perfectly fixed ; brahman — O brāhmaṇa (Śaunaka) ; brahmaṇaḥ — of Lord Brahmā ; parame — sthinaḥ — the most elevated of living beings ; hṛdi — within the heart ; ākāśāt — from out of the sky ; abhūt — arose ; nādaḥ — the transcendental subtle sound ; vṛtti — rodhāt — by stopping the functioning (of the ears) ; vibhāvyate — is perceived .

Translation

Sūta Gosvāmī said: O brāhmaṇa, first the subtle vibration of transcendental sound appeared from the sky of the heart of the most elevated Lord Brahmā, whose mind was perfectly fixed in spiritual realization. One can perceive this subtle vibration when one stops all external hearing.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Sūta Gosvāmī said: O brāhmaṇa! First, the nāda appeared from the ether in the heart of Lord Brahmā, whose mind was perfectly fixed in spiritual realization. One can perceive this subtle vibration when one stops up the ears. In order to correctly define the fruit of the tree of the Vedas, he briefly describes the branches of the Vedas. First he describes how the Vedas appeared. Nāda appeared from the ether in the heart of Brahmā. This sound can be conjectured by a person if he blocks the ears.

Purport

Because Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the supreme Vedic literature, the sages headed by Śaunaka desired to trace out its source.