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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.9.33

Who is speaking and story frame

ॐ नमस्तेऽस्तु भगवन्नारायण वासुदेवादिपुरुष महापुरुष महानुभाव परममङ्गल परमकल्याण परमकारुणिक केवल जगदाधार लोकैकनाथ सर्वेश्वर लक्ष्मीनाथ परमहंसपरिव्राजकै: परमेणात्मयोगसमाधिना परिभावितपरिस्फुटपारमहंस्यधर्मेणोद्‌घाटिततम:कपाट द्वारे चित्तेऽपावृत आत्मलोके स्वयमुपलब्धनिजसुखानुभवो भवान् ॥ ३३ ॥

oṁ namas te ’stu bhagavan nārāyaṇa vāsudevādi-puruṣa mahā-puruṣa mahānubhāva parama-maṅgala parama-kalyāṇa parama-kāruṇika kevala jagad-ādhāra lokaika-nātha sarveśvara lakṣmī-nātha paramahaṁsa-parivrājakaiḥ parameṇātma-yoga-samādhinā paribhāvita-parisphuṭa-pāramahaṁsya-dharmeṇodghāṭita-tamaḥ-kapāṭa-dvāre citte ’pāvṛta ātma-loke svayam upalabdha-nija-sukhānubhavo bhavān.

Translation

O Supreme Personality of Godhead, O Nārāyaṇa, O Vāsudeva, original person! O most exalted person, supreme experience, welfare personified! O supreme benediction, supremely merciful and changeless! O support of the cosmic manifestation, sole proprietor of all planetary systems, master of everything and husband of the goddess of fortune! Your Lordship is realized by the topmost sannyāsīs, who wander about the world to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness, fully absorbed in samādhi through bhakti-yoga. Because their minds are concentrated upon You, they can receive the conception of Your personality in their fully purified hearts. When the darkness in their hearts is completely eradicated and You are revealed to them, the transcendental bliss they enjoy is the transcendental form of Your Lordship. No one but such persons can realize You. Therefore we simply offer You our respectful obeisances.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Opens the Heart

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead has many transcendental names corresponding to different degrees of realization. He is realized as Supreme Brahman, Paramātmā and in His various personal forms.

  2. 2

    The purport places realization of Baladeva above realization of Nārāyaṇa, and realization of Kṛṣṇa above that. All these realizations are possible through full engagement in devotional service.

  3. 3

    Devotional service opens the covered core of the heart to understanding the Lord. With minds concentrated on Him through bhakti-yoga, His devotees receive an understanding of His personality in their purified hearts.

Key points from the purport
  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead has numerous transcendental names pertaining to different grades of revelation to various grades of devotees and transcendentalists.
  • When He is realized in His impersonal form He is called the Supreme Brahman, when realized as the Paramātmā He is called antaryāmī, and when He expands Himself in different forms for material creation He is called Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.
  • The covered core of one’s heart is then completely open to receiving an understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His various forms.

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:

When Vṛtrāsura was generated from the sacrifice, his fierce features made the whole world afraid, and his personal effulgence diminished even the power of the demigods. Finding no other means of protection, the demigods began to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the enjoyer of all the results of sacrifice, who is supreme throughout the entire universe.
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. omO Lord
  2. namaḥrespectful obeisances
  3. teunto You
  4. astulet there be
  5. bhagavanO Supreme Personality of Godhead
  6. nārāyaṇathe resort of all living entities, Nārāyaṇa
  7. vāsudevaLord Vāsudeva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa
  8. ādi-puruṣathe original person
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 6.9

    In this verse: “bhakti-yoga”, “devotional service”, “devotees”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 6.9

    In this verse: “welfare”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 6.9

    In this verse: “merciful”

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 can I give more wholehearted attention to devotional service?

Practice

Set aside five undistracted minutes today to concentrate on Kṛṣṇa and offer Him a prayer.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Service Opens the HeartThis 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 6.9.33? Get an answer from the verses themselves.