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

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Canto 1 · Creation · 19 chapters

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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 7: The Son of Droṇa Punished
1.7.211.7.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.7.22

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Arjunasince 1.7.22inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

अर्जुन उवाच

कृष्ण कृष्ण महाबाहो भक्तानामभयङ्कर ।

त्वमेको दह्यमानानामपवर्गोऽसि संसृते: ॥ २२ ॥

arjuna uvāca

kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa mahā-bāho

bhaktānām abhayaṅkara

tvam eko dahyamānānām

apavargo ’si saṁsṛteḥ

Translation

Arjuna said: O my Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, You are the almighty Personality of Godhead. There is no limit to Your different energies. Therefore only You are competent to instill fearlessness in the hearts of Your devotees. Everyone in the flames of material miseries can find the path of liberation in You only.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Gives His Devotees Fearlessness

  1. 1

    Arjuna’s description is authoritative because he has experienced Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental qualities. Kṛṣṇa is the almighty Personality of Godhead, whose energies have no limit.

  2. 2

    The Lord’s protection gives His devotees fearlessness. His mercy can extinguish material existence’s blazing forest fire.

  3. 3

    The self-realized spiritual master is the Lord’s mercy representative. Through his words, transcendental knowledge enters the suffering heart and extinguishes the fire of material existence.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore, Arjuna’s version of Lord Kṛṣṇa is authoritative.
  • Material existence is something like a blazing fire in the forest, which can be extinguished by the mercy of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
  • Therefore, a person burning in the flames of material existence may receive the rains of mercy of the Lord through the transparent medium of the self-realized spiritual master.

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

Grief → Trust. Violence and bereavement make Kṛṣṇa's protective presence precious.

Chapters 7–9 of Canto 1: Postwar anguish, Kuntī and Bhīṣma. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 7: The Son of Droṇa Punished

Vyāsadeva compiles Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; Arjuna captures Aśvatthāmā, and Kṛṣṇa addresses the question of his punishment.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.7
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. arjunaḥ uvācaArjuna said
  2. kṛṣṇaO Lord Kṛṣṇa
  3. kṛṣṇaO Lord Kṛṣṇa
  4. mahā-bāhoHe who is the Almighty
  5. bhaktānāmof the devotees
  6. abhayaṅkaraeradicating the fears of
  7. tvamYou
  8. ekaḥalone
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.7

    In this verse: “devotees”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 1.7

    In this verse: “material”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 1.7

    In this verse: “fearlessness”

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 I become more receptive to the Lord’s mercy through the spiritual master’s words?

Practice

Reread one sentence of this purport about the Lord’s protection and reflect on it for a minute.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Gives His Devotees FearlessnessThis 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 1.7.22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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