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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 6 · Chapter 8: The Nārāyaṇa-kavaca Shield

6.8.30 6.8.32-33

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.8.31

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Viśvarūpasince 6.8.4-6inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यथा हि भगवानेव वस्तुत: सदसच्च यत् ।

सत्येनानेन न: सर्वे यान्तु नाशमुपद्रवा: ॥ ३१ ॥

yathā hi bhagavān eva

vastutaḥ sad asac ca yat

satyenānena naḥ sarve

yāntu nāśam upadravāḥ

Translation

The subtle and gross cosmic manifestation is material, but nevertheless it is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He is ultimately the cause of all causes. Cause and effect are factually one because the cause is present in the effect. Therefore the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can destroy all our dangers by any of His potent parts.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Is the Cause of All

1
The subtle and gross cosmic manifestation is material, yet it is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He is the cause of all causes.
2
Cause and effect are factually one because the cause is present in the effect.
3
The Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He can destroy all our dangers through any of His potent parts.

How it feels

Offense and dread → Moral reckoning. Heroic power does not guarantee inner freedom.

Chapters 7–10 of Canto 6: Indra, Bṛhaspati and the emergence of Vṛtrāsura. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 8: The Nārāyaṇa-kavaca Shield

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

One should think of Madhusūdana, Tridhāmā, Mādhava, Hṛṣīkeśa, Padmanābha, Janārdana, Dāmodara and Viśveśvara, as well as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa Himself. After offering prayers to the Lord’s personal expansions known as the svāṁśa and śaktyāveśa-avatāras, one should pray to the weapons of Lord Nārāyaṇa, such as the Sudarśana, gadā, śaṅkha, khaḍga and bow.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 6.8

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

yathājust as
hiindeed
bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
evaundoubtedly
vastutaḥat the ultimate issue
satmanifested
asatunmanifested
caand

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

Āśraya · The summum bonum
Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.8
In this verse: “material”
Abhaya · Fearlessness
Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 6.8
In this verse: “dangers”
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 6.8
In this verse: “absolute truth”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does recognizing the Lord as the cause of all causes change my sense of dependence?

Practice

Look at one thing around you and reflect that its ultimate cause is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Is the Cause of AllThis 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 6.8.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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