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

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Canto 12 · The Age of Deterioration · 13 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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 12.8.33-34

Who is speaking and story frame

तौ शुक्लकृष्णौ नवकञ्जलोचनौ

चतुर्भुजौ रौरववल्कलाम्बरौ ।

पवित्रपाणी उपवीतकं त्रिवृत्

कमण्डलुं दण्डमृजुं च वैणवम् ॥ ३३ ॥

पद्माक्षमालामुत जन्तुमार्जनं

वेदं च साक्षात्तप एव रूपिणौ ।

तपत्तडिद्वर्णपिशङ्गरोचिषा

प्रांशू दधानौ विबुधर्षभार्चितौ ॥ ३४ ॥

tau śukla-kṛṣṇau nava-kañja-locanau

catur-bhujau raurava-valkalāmbarau

pavitra-pāṇī upavītakaṁ tri-vṛt

kamaṇḍaluṁ daṇḍam ṛjuṁ ca vaiṇavam

padmākṣa-mālām uta jantu-mārjanaṁ

vedaṁ ca sākṣāt tapa eva rūpiṇau

tapat-taḍid-varṇa-piśaṅga-rociṣā

prāṁśū dadhānau vibudharṣabhārcitau

Translation

One of Them was of a whitish complexion, the other blackish, and They both had four arms. Their eyes resembled the petals of blooming lotuses, and They wore garments of black deerskin and bark, along with the three-stranded sacred thread. In Their hands, which were most purifying, They carried the mendicant’s waterpot, straight bamboo staff and lotus-seed prayer beads, as well as the all-purifying Vedas in the symbolic form of bundles of darbha grass. Their bearing was tall and Their yellow effulgence the color of radiant lightning. Appearing as austerity personified, They were being worshiped by the foremost demigods.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

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.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Forms Embody Austerity

  1. 1

    One form was whitish and the other blackish. Both had four arms and eyes resembling blooming lotus petals.

  2. 2

    They wore black deerskin, bark and three-stranded sacred threads. Their purifying hands held waterpots, bamboo staffs, lotus-seed prayer beads and bundles of darbha grass representing the all-purifying Vedas.

  3. 3

    Their tall forms shone with yellow effulgence like radiant lightning. Appearing as austerity personified, They were worshiped by the foremost demigods.

How it feels

Inquiry → Reverence. The transmission of sacred knowledge continues beyond the king's life.

Chapters 7–8 of Canto 12: The Vedic corpus and Mārkaṇḍeya's devotion. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 8: Mārkaṇḍeya’s Prayers to Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Therefore those who are intelligent worship Your personal form of pure goodness named Śrī Nārāyaṇa, along with Nara, who represents Your unalloyed devotee. “The living entity bewildered by illusion can directly understand You if he receives the knowledge presented in the Vedas and promulgated by You, the spiritual master of the entire universe.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.8
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tauthe two of Them
  2. śukla-kṛṣṇauone white and the other black
  3. nava-kañjalike blooming lotus flowers
  4. locanauTheir eyes
  5. catuḥ-bhujauhaving four arms
  6. rauravablack deerskin
  7. valkalaand bark
  8. ambarauas Their clothing
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 12.8

    In this verse: “worshiped”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 12.8

    In this verse: “purifying”

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

Which detail of these worshipable forms most draws your attention?

Practice

Reread the description slowly and spend one minute remembering Their lotus-like eyes.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Forms Embody AusterityThis 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 12.8.33-34? Get an answer from the verses themselves.