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

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Canto 3 · The Status Quo · 33 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 3 · Chapter 20: Conversation Between Maitreya and Vidura
3.20.73.20.9

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.20.8

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 3.20.8inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

सूत उवाच

हरेर्धृतक्रोडतनो: स्वमायया

निशम्य गोरुद्धरणं रसातलात् ।

लीलां हिरण्याक्षमवज्ञया हतं

सञ्जातहर्षो मुनिमाह भारत: ॥ ८ ॥

sūta uvāca

harer dhṛta-kroḍa-tanoḥ sva-māyayā

niśamya gor uddharaṇaṁ rasātalāt

līlāṁ hiraṇyākṣam avajñayā hataṁ

sañjāta-harṣo munim āha bhārataḥ

Translation

Sūta Gosvāmī continued: Vidura, the descendant of Bharata, was delighted to hear the story of the Lord, who, having assumed by His own divine potency the form of a boar, had enacted the sport of lifting the earth from the bottom of the ocean and indifferently killing the demon Hiraṇyākṣa. Vidura then spoke to the sage as follows.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Form Is Beyond Material Control

  1. 1

    Vidura was delighted to hear how the Lord assumed a boar form, lifted the earth from the ocean, and killed Hiraṇyākṣa.

  2. 2

    Unlike a conditioned soul, who receives a body under material laws, the Lord assumes His form by His own internal potency. His form is never made of material energy.

  3. 3

    Māyā is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and cannot overcome Him. The idea that the Supreme becomes covered by māyā is therefore invalid.

Key points from the purport
  • It is stated here that the Lord assumed the form of a boar by His own potency.
  • His form is not actually the form of a conditioned soul.
  • In Bhagavad-gītā the same fact is confirmed: when the Lord descends to this earth, He assumes a form by His own internal potency.

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

Longing and service → Preparedness. Family devotion turns toward higher spiritual fulfillment.

Chapters 20–24 of Canto 3: Kardama, Devahūti, family and renunciation. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 20: Conversation Between Maitreya and Vidura

Questions about Manu lead to further accounts of Brahmā’s creation of demigods, demons, and other beings.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.20
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sūtaḥ uvācaSūta said
  2. hareḥof the Lord
  3. dhṛtawho had assumed
  4. kroḍaof a boar
  5. tanoḥbody
  6. sva-māyayāby His divine potency
  7. niśamyahaving heard
  8. goḥof the earth
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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

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 3.20

    In this verse: “indifferently”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.20

    In this verse: “māyā”, “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

Do I think of the Lord’s form as subject to the same limitations as my own body?

Practice

Reread the translation and pause to remember that the Lord acts by His own divine potency, not under material compulsion.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Form Is Beyond Material ControlThis 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 3.20.8? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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