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Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 1 · Chapter 18: Mahārāja Parīkṣit Cursed by a Brāhmaṇa Boy
1.18.201.18.22

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.18.21

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 1.18.18inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

अथापि यत्पादनखावसृष्टं

जगद्विरिञ्चोपहृतार्हणाम्भ: ।

सेशं पुनात्यन्यतमो मुकुन्दात्

को नाम लोके भगवत्पदार्थ: ॥ २१ ॥

athāpi yat-pāda-nakhāvasṛṣṭaṁ

jagad viriñcopahṛtārhaṇāmbhaḥ

seśaṁ punāty anyatamo mukundāt

ko nāma loke bhagavat-padārthaḥ

Translation

Who can be worthy of the name of the Supreme Lord but the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa? Brahmājī collected the water emanating from the nails of His feet in order to award it to Lord Śiva as a worshipful welcome. This very water [the Ganges] is purifying the whole universe, including Lord Śiva.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Alone Is the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Mukunda, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Ganges, emanating from the nails of His feet, purifies the whole universe, including Lord Śiva.

  2. 2

    The Lord is one without a second, though His expansions are limitless. Brahmā, Śiva and Lakṣmī are not independently powerful; they worship and serve the Supreme Lord.

  3. 3

    The four original sampradāyas remain engaged in the Lord’s transcendental service. They all declare that no personality is equal to or greater than Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Key points from the purport
  • In other words, even demigods like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, who are the chief amongst all demigods, are never equal to or greater than Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • The goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, and all-powerful demigods like Brahmā and Śiva are engaged in the worship of Viṣṇu or Lord Kṛṣṇa; therefore who can be more powerful than Mukunda (Lord Kṛṣṇa) to be factually called the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
  • The goddess of fortune, Lakṣmījī, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva are not independently powerful; they are powerful as expansions of the Supreme Lord, and all of them are engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and so also are the living entities.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Remorse and urgency → Surrender and inquiry. Seven days to live become the impetus for complete spiritual hearing.

Chapters 18–19 of Canto 1: Parīkṣit is cursed and welcomes Śukadeva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 18: Mahārāja Parīkṣit Cursed by a Brāhmaṇa Boy

A sage’s son curses Parīkṣit, but his father condemns the punishment of the saintly king.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.18
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. athatherefore
  2. apicertainly
  3. yatwhose
  4. pāda-nakhanails of the feet
  5. avasṛṣṭamemanating
  6. jagatthe whole universe
  7. viriñcaBrahmājī
  8. upahṛtacollected
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.18

    In this verse: “worshipful”, “worship”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 1.18

    In this verse: “purifying”, “purifies”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can recognizing Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord strengthen my desire to serve Him?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer to Lord Kṛṣṇa, acknowledging His supremacy and expressing your desire to serve Him.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 1.18's connections

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Alone Is the Supreme LordThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 1.18.21? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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