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

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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 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 10 · Chapter 6: The Killing of the Demon Pūtanā
10.6.2110.6.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 10.6.22-23

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.6.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अव्यादजोऽङ्‍‍घ्रि मणिमांस्तव जान्वथोरू

यज्ञोऽच्युत: कटितटं जठरं हयास्य: ।

हृत्केशवस्त्वदुर ईश इनस्तु कण्ठं

विष्णुर्भुजं मुखमुरुक्रम ईश्वर: कम् ॥ २२ ॥

चक्रय‍ग्रत: सहगदो हरिरस्तु पश्चात्

त्वत्पार्श्वयोर्धनुरसी मधुहाजनश्च ।

कोणेषु शङ्ख उरुगाय उपर्युपेन्द्र-

स्तार्क्ष्य: क्षितौ हलधर: पुरुष: समन्तात् ॥ २३ ॥

avyād ajo ’ṅghri maṇimāṁs tava jānv athorū

yajño ’cyutaḥ kaṭi-taṭaṁ jaṭharaṁ hayāsyaḥ

hṛt keśavas tvad-ura īśa inas tu kaṇṭhaṁ

viṣṇur bhujaṁ mukham urukrama īśvaraḥ kam

cakry agrataḥ saha-gado harir astu paścāt

tvat-pārśvayor dhanur-asī madhu-hājanaś ca

koṇeṣu śaṅkha urugāya upary upendras

tārkṣyaḥ kṣitau haladharaḥ puruṣaḥ samantāt

Translation

[Śukadeva Gosvāmī informed Mahārāja Parīkṣit that the gopīs, following the proper system, protected Kṛṣṇa, their child, with this mantra.] May Aja protect Your legs, may Maṇimān protect Your knees, Yajña Your thighs, Acyuta the upper part of Your waist, and Hayagrīva Your abdomen. May Keśava protect Your heart, Īśa Your chest, the sun-god Your neck, Viṣṇu Your arms, Urukrama Your face, and Īśvara Your head. May Cakrī protect You from the front; may Śrī Hari, Gadādharī, the carrier of the club, protect You from the back; and may the carrier of the bow, who is known as the enemy of Madhu, and Lord Ajana, the carrier of the sword, protect Your two sides. May Lord Urugāya, the carrier of the conchshell, protect You from all corners; may Upendra protect You from above; may Garuḍa protect You on the ground; and may Lord Haladhara, the Supreme Person, protect You on all sides.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Prayers for Protection on Every Side

  1. 1

    Following the proper system, the gopīs prayed for protection of the child’s different bodily parts. They invoked names including Aja, Acyuta, Keśava and Viṣṇu.

  2. 2

    Their prayer sought protection from the front, back, sides, corners, above and ground. They asked Lord Haladhara, the Supreme Person, to protect Him on all sides.

  3. 3

    The purport explains that even women in cultivators’ households knew these protective mantras and their use with cow products. It presents this knowledge as a part of Vedic civilization.

Key points from the purport
  • Even in the houses of the cultivators, who were not very advanced in the modern ways of civilization, the ladies used to know how to chant mantras to give protection to children with the help of cow dung and cow urine.
  • This was a simple and practical way to give the greatest protection from the greatest dangers.
  • People should know how to do this, for this is a part of Vedic civilization.

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

Worry and play → Parental tenderness. The Supreme becomes the beloved child of His devotees.

Chapters 5–11 of Canto 10: Gokula, Yaśodā and the infant Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 6: The Killing of the Demon Pūtanā

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The child Kṛṣṇa, therefore, squeezed Pūtanā’s breast so severely that in unbearable pain she had to assume her original body and fell to the ground. Then Kṛṣṇa began playing on her breast just like a small child.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.6
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. avyātmay protect
  2. ajaḥLord Aja
  3. aṅghrilegs
  4. maṇimānLord Maṇimān
  5. tavaYour
  6. jānuknees
  7. athathereafter
  8. urūthighs
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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 10.6

    In this verse: “child”, “child’s”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 10.6

    In this verse: “protected”, “protection”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.6

    In this verse: “households”

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

What does the prayer’s attention to every direction reveal about the gopīs’ loving concern for Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Read the translated prayer aloud once, paying attention to its careful requests for protection.

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 10.6's connections

Live this todayPrayers for Protection on Every SideThis 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 10.6.22-23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.