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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 7 · The Science of God · 15 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

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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 7 · Chapter 5: Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu

7.5.10 7.5.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.5.11

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Prahlāda Mahārājasince 7.5.11inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

श्रीप्रह्राद उवाच

पर: स्वश्चेत्यसद्ग्राह: पुंसां यन्मायया कृत: ।

विमोहितधियां द‍ृष्टस्तस्मै भगवते नम: ॥ ११ ॥

śrī-prahrāda uvāca

paraḥ svaś cety asad-grāhaḥ

puṁsāṁ yan-māyayā kṛtaḥ

vimohita-dhiyāṁ dṛṣṭas

tasmai bhagavate namaḥ

Translation

Prahlāda Mahārāja replied: Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose external energy has created the distinctions of “my friend” and “my enemy” by deluding the intelligence of men. Indeed, I am now actually experiencing this, although I have previously heard of it from authoritative sources.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

One Master, Everyone His Servant

1
The distinctions of “my friend” and “my enemy” arise from māyā, the Lord’s external energy. Learned devotees see everyone as part of Kṛṣṇa and meant to serve Him.
2
A Vaiṣṇava humbly sees other devotees as masters from whom there is much to learn. By the spiritual master’s mercy, one receives Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.
3
True oneness means that Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the master and all living entities are His eternal servants. It does not mean that everyone is God; the distinction between master and servant remains even in liberation.

Key points from the purport

Actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the friend of all living entities, and all living entities are eternal servants of the Supreme Lord.
The true understanding is that God is the supreme master and that all of us are servants of the Supreme Lord and are therefore on the same platform.
In the liberated stage, however, the conception is that God is the master and that all living entities, being servants of God, are one.

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 7.5.11 quotesBG 5.18

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.18): “The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].”

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

Threat → Steady faith. A vulnerable child remains inwardly unshaken.

Chapters 5–7 of Canto 7: Prahlāda refuses to abandon his devotion. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 5: Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Prahlāda Mahārāja replied that a man engrossed in the material consciousness of duality, thinking, “This is mine, and that belongs to my enemy,” should give up his householder life and go to the forest to worship the Supreme Lord. When Hiraṇyakaśipu heard from his son about devotional service, he decided that this small boy had been polluted by some friend in school.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 7.5

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

śrī-prahrādaḥ uvācaPrahlāda Mahārāja replied
paraḥan enemy
svaḥa kinsman or friend
caalso
itithus
asat-grāhaḥmaterial conception of life
puṁsāmof persons
yatof whom

Key ideas in this verse

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

Īśānukathā · The science of God
Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10
Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting
Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 7.5
In this verse: “heard”
Sakhya · Sacred friendship
The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 7.5
In this verse: “friend”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 7.5
In this verse: “devotees”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might seeing others as servants of Kṛṣṇa change my habit of labeling them friends or enemies?

Practice

When a hostile thought about someone arises today, pause and remember that both of you are eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayOne Master, Everyone His ServantThis 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.

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