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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

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

6.8.35 6.8.37

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.8.36

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Viśvarūpasince 6.8.35inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

एतद् धारयमाणस्तु यं यं पश्यति चक्षुषा ।

पदा वा संस्पृशेत् सद्य: साध्वसात् स विमुच्यते ॥ ३६ ॥

etad dhārayamāṇas tu

yaṁ yaṁ paśyati cakṣuṣā

padā vā saṁspṛśet sadyaḥ

sādhvasāt sa vimucyate

Translation

If one employs this armor, whomever he sees with his eyes or touches with his feet is immediately freed from all the above-mentioned dangers.

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 Armor’s Protection Reaches Others

1
The verse describes the influence of a person who employs this armor.
2
Whomever that person sees with his eyes or touches with his feet receives its protection.
3
The verse states that such a person is immediately freed from all the dangers previously mentioned.

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 must progressively place the syllables of the mantra on the heart, the head, between the two eyebrows, on the śikhā and between the eyes, and then one should chant maḥ astrāya phaṭ and with this mantra protect himself from all directions. Nādevo devam arcayet: one who has not risen to the level of a deva cannot chant this mantra.

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

etatthis
dhārayamāṇaḥa person employing
tubut
yam yamwhomever
paśyatihe sees
cakṣuṣāby his eyes
padāby his feet
vāor

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
Abhaya · Fearlessness
Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 6.8
In this verse: “dangers”
Rakṣā · Divine protection
Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 6.8
In this verse: “protection”

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 this verse broaden my attention from my own protection to the welfare of others?

Practice

Read the verse once with another person’s welfare in mind.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Armor’s Protection Reaches OthersThis 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 6.8.36? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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