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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

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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 7 · Chapter 5: Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu
7.5.39-407.5.42

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.5.41

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Prahlāda Mahārājasince 7.5.30inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

परे ब्रह्मण्यनिर्देश्ये भगवत्यखिलात्मनि ।

युक्तात्मन्यफला आसन्नपुण्यस्येव सत्क्रिया: ॥ ४१ ॥

pare brahmaṇy anirdeśye

bhagavaty akhilātmani

yuktātmany aphalā āsann

apuṇyasyeva sat-kriyāḥ

Translation

Even though a person who has no assets in pious activities performs some good deed, it will have no result. Thus the weapons of the demons had no tangible effects upon Prahlāda Mahārāja because he was a devotee undisturbed by material conditions and fully engaged in meditating upon and serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is unchangeable, who cannot be realized by the material senses, and who is the soul of the entire universe.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Protected in the Lord’s Care

  1. 1

    Prahlāda Mahārāja was constantly and fully engaged in thinking of and serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus he was protected by Govinda.

  2. 2

    Śrīla Prabhupāda compares the Lord’s protection of a devotee to the protection a small child receives on a parent’s lap.

  3. 3

    The Supreme Lord cannot be injured by material means, because He is always transcendental. He is all-pervasive and is the active principle of everything, even material weapons.

Key points from the purport
  • Prahlāda Mahārāja was constantly and fully engaged in thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • There have been many attempts by the demons to hurt or kill the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He cannot be injured by any material means because He is always in transcendence.
  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead is described in this verse as anirdeśye.

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

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

Further reading

Chapter 5: Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The assistants of Hiraṇyakaśipu struck Prahlāda with sharp weapons, threw him under the feet of elephants, subjected him to hellish conditions, threw him from the peak of a mountain and tried to kill him in thousands of other ways, but they were unsuccessful. Hiraṇyakaśipu therefore became increasingly afraid of his son Prahlāda Mahārāja and arrested him.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. parein the supreme
  2. brahmaṇiabsolute
  3. anirdeśyewho is not perceivable by the senses
  4. bhagavatithe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  5. akhila-ātmanithe Supersoul of everyone
  6. yukta-ātmanion he whose mind was engaged (Prahlāda)
  7. aphalāḥwithout effect
  8. āsanwere
3

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 7.5

    In this verse: “devotee”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 7.5

    In this verse: “material”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 7.5

    In this verse: “protected”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can the image of a child on a parent’s lap deepen my trust in the Lord while serving Him?

Practice

Before one act of devotional service today, pause and remember Govinda’s care for His devotee.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayProtected in the Lord’s CareThis 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 7.5.41? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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