1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter

Canto

Canto 12 · The Age of Deterioration · 13 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.

Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Canto 12 · Chapter 10: Lord Śiva and Umā Glorify Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi

12.10.1 12.10.3

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.10.2

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣisince 12.10.2inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच

प्रपन्नोऽस्म्यङ्‍‍घ्रिमूलं ते प्रपन्नाभयदं हरे ।

यन्माययापि विबुधा मुह्यन्ति ज्ञानकाशया ॥ २ ॥

śrī-mārkaṇḍeya uvāca

prapanno ’smy aṅghri-mūlaṁ te

prapannābhaya-daṁ hare

yan-māyayāpi vibudhā

muhyanti jñāna-kāśayā

Translation

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: O Lord Hari, I take shelter of the soles of Your lotus feet, which bestow fearlessness upon all who surrender to them. Even the great demigods are bewildered by Your illusory energy, which appears to them in the guise of knowledge.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Surrender Brings Fearlessness Beyond Illusion

1
Lord Hari’s lotus feet bestow fearlessness upon those who surrender to them.
2
Even great demigods can be bewildered by the Lord’s illusory energy, which appears in the guise of knowledge.
3
The purport explains that studying nature for material sense gratification can deepen identification with the material body. Such apparent advancement in knowledge leads further into ignorance.

Key points from the purport

Conditioned souls are attracted to material sense gratification, and thus they meticulously study the workings of nature.
Although they appear to be advancing in scientific knowledge, they become increasingly entangled in their false identification with the material body and therefore increasingly merge into ignorance.

The purport'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

Terror and bewilderment → Wonder and surrender. Annihilation gives way to a tender divine vision.

Chapters 9–10 of Canto 12: Mārkaṇḍeya witnesses the deluge and divine child. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 10: Lord Śiva and Umā Glorify Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

In this chapter Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī describes how Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi received benedictions from Lord Śiva. Once, as Lord Śiva was traveling in the sky with his wife, Pārvatī, he came across Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya merged in meditative trance.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 12.10

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

śrī-mārkaṇḍeyaḥ uvācaŚrī Mārkaṇḍeya said
prapannaḥsurrendered
asmiI am
aṅghri-mūlamto the soles of the lotus feet
teYour
prapannaof those who surrender
abhaya-damthe giver of fearlessness
hareO Lord Hari

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
Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender
Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 12.10
In this verse: “surrender”, “shelter”
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 12.10
In this verse: “knowledge”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 12.10
In this verse: “sense gratification”, “material”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Is my pursuit of knowledge helping me seek the Lord’s shelter, or strengthening my identification with the body?

Practice

Offer a short prayer to Lord Hari for shelter and freedom from bewilderment.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySurrender Brings Fearlessness Beyond IllusionThis 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 12.10.2? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories