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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 ›
Canto 12 · Chapter 8: Mārkaṇḍeya’s Prayers to Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi
12.8.4312.8.45

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.8.44

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣisince 12.8.40inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

तद् वै भजाम्यृतधियस्तव पादमूलं

हित्वेदमात्मच्छदि चात्मगुरो: परस्य ।

देहाद्यपार्थमसदन्त्यमभिज्ञमात्रं

विन्देत ते तर्हि सर्वमनीषितार्थम् ॥ ४४ ॥

tad vai bhajāmy ṛta-dhiyas tava pāda-mūlaṁ

hitvedam ātma-cchadi cātma-guroḥ parasya

dehādy apārtham asad antyam abhijña-mātraṁ

vindeta te tarhi sarva-manīṣitārtham

Translation

Therefore I worship Your lotus feet, having renounced my identification with the material body and everything else that covers my true self. These useless, insubstantial and temporary coverings are merely presumed to be separate from You, whose intelligence encompasses all truth. By attaining You — the Supreme Godhead and the master of the soul — one attains everything desirable.

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.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Give Up False Ownership Through Knowledge

  1. 1

    False identification with the material body or mind makes one feel entitled to exploit the material world.

  2. 2

    Realizing our eternal spiritual nature and Lord Kṛṣṇa’s supreme ownership gives us strength to renounce the desire to enjoy selfishly.

  3. 3

    The prayer gives up identification with temporary coverings and turns to worship of the Lord’s lotus feet. By attaining Him, the Supreme Godhead and master of the soul, one attains everything desirable.

Key points from the purport
  • One who falsely identifies himself as the material body or mind automatically feels entitled to exploit the material world.
  • But when we realize our eternal spiritual nature and Lord Kṛṣṇa’s supreme proprietorship over all that be, we renounce our false enjoying propensity by the strength of spiritual knowledge.

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

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:

Attaining Your lotus feet is the only auspicious goal for the conditioned souls, and service to You fulfills all their desires. Your pastimes, enacted in the mode of pure goodness, can award everyone salvation from material life.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.8
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tattherefore
  2. vaiindeed
  3. bhajāmiI worship
  4. ṛta-dhiyaḥof Him whose intelligence always perceives the truth
  5. tavaof You
  6. pāda-mūlamthe soles of the lotus feet
  7. hitvāgiving up
  8. idamthis
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 12.8

    In this verse: “renounced”, “renounce”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “worship”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 12.8

    In this verse: “material”

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

Where does my sense of ownership encourage me to seek selfish enjoyment?

Practice

Before using one possession today, pause to acknowledge Lord Kṛṣṇa’s ownership and choose not to use it merely for selfish enjoyment.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayGive Up False Ownership Through KnowledgeThis 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 12.8.44? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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