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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 6.9.40

Who is speaking and story frame

त्रिभुवनात्मभवन त्रिविक्रम त्रिनयन त्रिलोकमनोहरानुभाव तवैव विभूतयो दितिजदनुजादयश्चापि तेषामुपक्रमसमयोऽयमिति स्वात्ममायया सुरनरमृगमिश्रित जलचराकृतिभिर्यथापराधं दण्डं दण्डधर दधर्थ एवमेनमपि भगवञ्जहि त्वाष्ट्रमुत यदि मन्यसे ॥ ४० ॥

tri-bhuvanātma-bhavana trivikrama tri-nayana tri-loka-manoharānubhāva tavaiva vibhūtayo ditija-danujādayaś cāpi teṣām upakrama-samayo ’yam iti svātma-māyayā sura-nara-mṛga-miśrita-jalacarākṛtibhir yathāparādhaṁ daṇḍaṁ daṇḍa-dhara dadhartha evam enam api bhagavañ jahi tvāṣṭram uta yadi manyase.

Translation

O Lord, O personified three worlds, father of the three worlds! O strength of the three worlds, in the form of the Vāmana incarnation! O three-eyed form of Nṛsiṁhadeva! O most beautiful person within the three worlds! Everything and everyone, including human beings and even the Daitya demons and the Dānavas, is but an expansion of Your energy. O supremely powerful one, You have always appeared in Your forms as the various incarnations to punish the demons as soon as they become very powerful. You appear as Lord Vāmanadeva, Lord Rāma and Lord Kṛṣṇa. You appear sometimes as an animal like Lord Boar, sometimes a mixed incarnation like Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva and Lord Hayagrīva, and sometimes an aquatic like Lord Fish and Lord Tortoise. Assuming such various forms, You have always punished the demons and Dānavas. We therefore pray that Your Lordship appear today as another incarnation, if You so desire, to kill the great demon Vṛtrāsura.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Grow Toward Service Without Material Demands

  1. 1

    Sakāma devotees still desire material enjoyment, while akāma devotees are free from such desires. Those who seek the Lord’s help in difficulty are nevertheless pious because they depend on His mercy.

  2. 2

    Pure devotees do not ask the Lord for material benefits, even in danger. Amid difficulties, they offer prayers and service more enthusiastically and become firmly fixed in devotional service.

  3. 3

    The Lord protects His devotees through His powerful incarnations. Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • Because of their pious activities, the sakāma devotees are promoted to the higher planetary systems, but at heart they still desire to lord it over the material resources.
  • The sakāma devotees are sometimes disturbed by the demons and Rākṣasas, but the Lord is so kind that He always saves them by appearing as an incarnation.
  • Sakāma devotees, of course, achieve from the Lord the results they desire from their prayers, but they do not immediately become fit to return to Godhead.

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 6.9.40 quotesSB 10.14.8

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.8): Even while suffering in the midst of difficulties, devotees simply offer their prayers and service more enthusiastically.

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

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:

While performing the sacrifice to kill Indra, Tvaṣṭā chanted a mantra to increase Indra’s enemies, but because he chanted the mantra wrong, the sacrifice produced an asura named Vṛtrāsura, of whom Indra was the enemy. 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.
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. tri-bhuvana-ātma-bhavanaO Lord, You are the shelter of the three worlds because You are the Supersoul of the three worlds
  2. tri-vikramaO Lord, who assume the form of Vāmana, Your power and opulence are distributed throughout the three worlds
  3. tri-nayanaO maintainer and seer of the three worlds
  4. tri-loka-manohara-anubhāvaO You who are perceived as the most beautiful within the three worlds
  5. tavaof You
  6. evacertainly
  7. vibhūtayaḥthe expansions of energy
  8. diti-ja-danu-ja-ādayaḥthe demoniac sons of Diti, and the Dānavas, another type of demon
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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 6.9

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotees”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 6.9

    In this verse: “father”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.9

    In this verse: “material”

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

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do my prayers mainly seek material relief, or do they also express a desire to serve?

Practice

Offer one short prayer today expressing your wish to serve the Lord without asking for a material benefit.

5

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.

Live this todayGrow Toward Service Without Material DemandsThis 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 6.9.40? Get an answer from the verses themselves.