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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.18.7

Who is speaking and story frame

हरिवर्षे चापि भगवान्नरहरिरूपेणास्ते । तद्रूपग्रहणनिमित्तमुत्तरत्राभिधास्ये । तद्दयितं रूपं महापुरुषगुणभाजनो महाभागवतो दैत्यदानवकुलतीर्थीकरणशीलाचरित: प्रह्लादोऽव्यवधानानन्यभक्तियोगेन सह तद्वर्षपुरुषैरुपास्ते इदं चोदाहरति ॥ ७ ॥

hari-varṣe cāpi bhagavān nara-hari-rūpeṇāste; tad-rūpa-grahaṇa-nimittam uttaratrābhidhāsye; tad dayitaṁ rūpaṁ mahā-puruṣa-guṇa-bhājano mahā-bhāgavato daitya-dānava-kula-tīrthīkaraṇa-śīlā-caritaḥ prahlādo ’vyavadhānānanya-bhakti-yogena saha tad-varṣa-puruṣair upāste idaṁ codāharati.

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva resides in the tract of land known as Hari-varṣa. In the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, I shall describe to you how Prahlāda Mahārāja caused the Lord to assume the form of Nṛsiṁhadeva. Prahlāda Mahārāja, the topmost devotee of the Lord, is a reservoir of all the good qualities of great personalities. His character and activities have delivered all the fallen members of his demoniac family. Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva is very dear to this exalted personality. Thus Prahlāda Mahārāja, along with his servants and all the denizens of Hari-varṣa, worships Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva by chanting the following mantra.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Takes Forms to Satisfy His Devotees

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa, or Keśava, is the original Personality of Godhead and the proprietor of all universes. His original two-handed form holds a flute and tends the cows.

  2. 2

    The Lord has innumerable incarnations but remains the original person, one without a second. He assumes different forms to satisfy His devotees or fulfill a specific purpose.

  3. 3

    When Prahlāda Mahārāja called upon the Lord in great distress, the Lord assumed the form of Nṛsiṁhadeva. Prahlāda and the residents of Hari-varṣa worship this form, who is very dear to him.

Key points from the purport
  • The Lord has innumerable incarnations, exactly like the innumerable waves of a flowing river, but the original form is Kṛṣṇa, or Keśava.
  • Apparently helpless before him, Prahlāda Mahārāja called on the Lord, who immediately assumed the gigantic form of Nṛsiṁhadeva, half-lion and half-man, to kill the gigantic demon.
  • Therefore Jayadeva Gosvāmī always repeats the name of Keśava, the original Personality of Godhead, in his prayers describing the Lord’s different incarnations for different purposes.

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:

In the land known as Hari-varṣa, the exalted devotee Prahlāda Mahārāja worships Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva. (The appearance of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva is described in the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.)
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. hari-varṣein the tract of land known as Harivarṣa
  2. caalso
  3. apiindeed
  4. bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  5. nara-hari-rūpeṇaHis form of Nṛsiṁhadeva
  6. āsteis situated
  7. tat-rūpa-grahaṇa-nimittamthe reason why Lord Kṛṣṇa (Keśava) assumed the form of Nṛsiṁha
  8. uttaratrain later chapters
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotee”, “worships”, “devotees”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 5.18

    In this verse: “chanting”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.18

    In this verse: “king”

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

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the Lord’s response to Prahlāda encourage me to turn toward Him?

Practice

Offer a brief, sincere prayer to the Lord today, remembering His care for Prahlāda.

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Connected stories

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

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Takes Forms to Satisfy His DevoteesThis 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 5.18.7? Get an answer from the verses themselves.