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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 9: Appearance of the Demon Vṛtrāsura
6.9.246.9.26-27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.9.25

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The demigodssince 6.9.21inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

य एक ईशो निजमायया न:

ससर्ज येनानुसृजाम

विश्वम् ।

ya eka īśo nija-māyayā naḥ

sasarja yenānusṛjāma viśvam

vayaṁ na yasyāpi puraḥ samīhataḥ

paśyāma liṅgaṁ pṛthag īśa-māninaḥ

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who created us by His external potency and by whose mercy we expand the creation of the universe, is always situated before us as the Supersoul, but we cannot see His form. We are unable to see Him because all of us think that we are separate and independent gods.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

False Independence Hides the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead created us by His external potency. Whatever we do to expand creation depends on His mercy.

  2. 2

    Although the Lord is present before us as the Supersoul, we cannot see His form because we think ourselves separate and independent controllers.

  3. 3

    Even when Lord Kṛṣṇa appears in human society, conditioned souls may mistake Him for an ordinary person. Thinking that we ourselves are God prevents us from understanding Him.

Key points from the purport
  • Here is an explanation of why the conditioned soul cannot see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face.
  • Even though the Lord appears before us as Lord Kṛṣṇa or Lord Rāmacandra and lives in human society as a leader or king, the conditioned soul cannot understand Him.
  • Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam: rascals (mūḍhas) deride the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thinking Him an ordinary human being.

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

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

Further reading

Chapter 9: Appearance of the Demon Vṛtrāsura

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Since water was also infested with sinful reactions, when bubbles appear in water it cannot be used for any purpose. After Viśvarūpa was killed, his father, Tvaṣṭā, performed a sacrifice to kill King Indra.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.9
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yaḥHe who
  2. ekaḥone
  3. īśaḥcontroller
  4. nija-māyayāby His transcendental potency
  5. naḥus
  6. sasarjacreated
  7. yenaby whom (through whose mercy)
  8. anusṛjāmawe also create
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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

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 6.9

    In this verse: “mercy”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 6.9

    In this verse: “understanding”

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

Where do I mistake my dependence on the Lord for independence?

Practice

Before one task today, pause and acknowledge that your ability to act depends on the Lord’s mercy.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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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 6.9's connections

Live this todayFalse Independence Hides the Supreme LordThis 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 6.9.25? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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