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

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Canto 6 · Prescribed Duties for Mankind · 19 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 6 · Chapter 4: The Haṁsa-guhya Prayers Offered to the Lord by Prajāpati Dakṣa
6.4.326.4.34

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.4.33

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Prajāpati Dakṣasince 6.4.23inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

योऽनुग्रहार्थं भजतां पादमूल-

मनामरूपो भगवाननन्त: ।

नामानि रूपाणि च जन्मकर्मभि-

र्भेजे स मह्यं परम: प्रसीदतु ॥ ३३ ॥

yo ’nugrahārthaṁ bhajatāṁ pāda-mūlam

anāma-rūpo bhagavān anantaḥ

nāmāni rūpāṇi ca janma-karmabhir

bheje sa mahyaṁ paramaḥ prasīdatu

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is inconceivably opulent, who is devoid of all material names, forms and pastimes, and who is all-pervading, is especially merciful to the devotees who worship His lotus feet. Thus He exhibits transcendental forms and names with His different pastimes. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose form is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss, be merciful to me.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Names and Forms Are Spiritual

  1. 1

    The Lord has no material name or form, but He has transcendental names, forms and activities. The Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is not material sound.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears to show His causeless mercy to devotees and nondevotees. Although unborn, He appears while always remaining transcendental.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s names express His transcendental activities and qualities. Kṛṣṇa means “all-attractive,” because His spiritual qualities make Him very attractive.

Key points from the purport
  • The word anāma, therefore, indicates that the names of the Supreme Lord do not belong to this material world.
  • To show His causeless mercy to the devotees, as well as to the nondevotees, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in this material world with names, forms and pastimes, all of which are transcendental.
  • Unintelligent men who cannot understand this think that these names, forms and pastimes are material, and therefore they deny that He has a name or a form.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 6.4.33 quotesBG 4.6

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.6): Although the Lord is unborn (aja) and His body never undergoes material changes, He nevertheless appears as an incarnation, maintaining Himself always in the transcendental stage (śuddha-sattva).

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Anger and conflict → Spiritual commitment. Competing understandings of duty create relational tension.

Chapters 4–6 of Canto 6: Dakṣa, Nārada and the consequences of preaching. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 4: The Haṁsa-guhya Prayers Offered to the Lord by Prajāpati Dakṣa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

As the air passes over a lotus flower and carries the scent of the flower with it, or as the air sometimes carries dust and therefore assumes colors, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears as the various demigods according to the desires of His various foolish worshipers, but actually He is the supreme truth, Lord Viṣṇu. To fulfill the desires of His devotees, He appears in various incarnations, and therefore there is no need to worship the demigods.”
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yaḥwho (the Supreme Personality of Godhead)
  2. anugraha-arthamto show His causeless mercy
  3. bhajatāmto the devotees who always render devotional service
  4. pāda-mūlamto His transcendental lotus feet
  5. anāmawith no material name
  6. rūpaḥor material form
  7. bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  8. anantaḥunlimited, all-pervading and eternally existing
3

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 6.4

    In this verse: “devotees”, “worship”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 6.4

    In this verse: “merciful”, “mercy”, “causeless”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.4

    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

How might remembering that the Lord’s name is spiritual change the way you chant?

Practice

Chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra attentively for one minute, remembering that its sound is nonmaterial.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

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 6.4's connections

Live this todayThe Lord’s Names and Forms Are SpiritualThis 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 6.4.33? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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