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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

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 8: Mārkaṇḍeya’s Prayers to Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi

12.8.45 12.8.47

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.8.46

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣisince 12.8.40inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

तस्मात्तवेह भगवन्नथ तावकानां

शुक्लां तनुं स्वदयितां कुशला भजन्ति ।

यत् सात्वता: पुरुषरूपमुशन्ति सत्त्वं

लोको यतोऽभयमुतात्मसुखं न चान्यत् ॥ ४६ ॥

tasmāt taveha bhagavann atha tāvakānāṁ

śuklāṁ tanuṁ sva-dayitāṁ kuśalā bhajanti

yat sātvatāḥ puruṣa-rūpam uśanti sattvaṁ

loko yato ’bhayam utātma-sukhaṁ na cānyat

Translation

O Lord, because fearlessness, spiritual happiness and the kingdom of God are all achieved through the mode of pure goodness, Your devotees consider this mode, but never passion and ignorance, to be a direct manifestation of You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Intelligent persons thus worship Your beloved transcendental form, composed of pure goodness, along with the spiritual forms of Your pure devotees.

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.

Worship the Lord’s Pure Spiritual Form

1
Intelligent persons do not worship demigods who represent passion and ignorance. Lord Viṣṇu, or Nārāyaṇa, represents pure spiritual goodness.
2
Pure spiritual goodness brings realization of the spiritual world, freedom from fear and spiritual bliss. Material goodness cannot give these benefits, because it is mixed with passion and ignorance.
3
The Lord’s transcendental form consists entirely of eternal spiritual goodness, without any material quality. Intelligent persons worship His beloved form along with the spiritual forms of His pure devotees.

Key points from the purport

Intelligent persons do not worship the demigods, who represent the modes of passion and ignorance.
Such benefits can never be derived from impure, material goodness, for it is always mixed with the modes of passion and ignorance.
As clearly indicated in this verse, the transcendental form of God is fully constituted of eternal spiritual goodness and thus has no tinge of the material mode of goodness, passion or 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

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

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 summary Back to this verse in chapter 12.8

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

tasmāttherefore
tavaYour
ihain this world
bhagavanO Supreme Lord
athaand
tāvakānāmof Your devotees
śuklāmtranscendental
tanumthe personal form

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
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 12.8
In this verse: “devotees”, “worship”
Abhaya · Fearlessness
Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 12.8
In this verse: “fearlessness”, “fear”
Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership
Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 12.8
In this verse: “kingdom”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I understand the Lord’s form as fully spiritual, rather than as a product of material nature?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer to Lord Nārāyaṇa today, remembering that His form is entirely spiritual and free from material qualities.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayWorship the Lord’s Pure Spiritual FormThis 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.

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