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

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Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 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 5 · Chapter 18: The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa
5.18.385.19.1

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.18.39

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.18.34inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

प्रमथ्य दैत्यं प्रतिवारणं मृधे

यो मां रसाया जगदादिसूकर: ।

कृत्वाग्रदंष्ट्रे निरगादुदन्वत:

क्रीडन्निवेभ: प्रणतास्मि तं विभुमिति ॥ ३९ ॥

pramathya daityaṁ prativāraṇaṁ mṛdhe

yo māṁ rasāyā jagad-ādi-sūkaraḥ

kṛtvāgra-daṁṣṭre niragād udanvataḥ

krīḍann ivebhaḥ praṇatāsmi taṁ vibhum iti

Translation

My Lord, as the original boar within this universe, You fought and killed the great demon Hiraṇyakṣa. Then You lifted me [the earth] from the Garbhodaka Ocean on the end of Your tusk, exactly as a sporting elephant plucks a lotus flower from the water. I bow down before You.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Bow Before the Lord Who Lifts Earth

  1. 1

    The Lord appeared as the original boar within this universe. He fought and killed the great demon Hiraṇyakṣa.

  2. 2

    He lifted the earth from the Garbhodaka Ocean on the end of His tusk. The verse compares this to a sporting elephant plucking a lotus flower from the water.

  3. 3

    The earth offers her obeisances to the Lord who lifted her. Her prayer expresses devotion by bowing before Him.

Key points from the purport
  • Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Eighteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa.”

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

Smallness → Awe and reverence. A vast cosmos changes the reader's perspective.

Chapters 15–25 of Canto 5: The cosmic regions and divine worship. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 18: The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Lacking attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he remains attached to family life in this material world. Thus the lesson of this chapter is that one should get out of family life and completely take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.18
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. pramathyaafter killing
  2. daityamthe demon
  3. prativāraṇammost formidable opponent
  4. mṛdhein the fight
  5. yaḥHe who
  6. māmme (the earth)
  7. rasāyāḥfallen to the bottom of the universe
  8. jagatin this material world
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 5.18

    In this verse: “devotion”

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

What does the earth’s prayer teach you about responding to the Lord with devotion?

Practice

Today, offer one respectful bow to the Lord, remembering how He lifted the earth.

5

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 5.18's connections

Live this todayBow Before the Lord Who Lifts EarthThis 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 5.18.39? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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