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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 8: Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva Slays the King of the Demons
7.8.127.8.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.8.13

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Hiraṇyakaśipusince 7.8.11inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

सोऽहं विकत्थमानस्य शिर: कायाद्धरामि ते ।

गोपायेत हरिस्त्वाद्य यस्ते शरणमीप्सितम् ॥ १३ ॥

so ’haṁ vikatthamānasya

śiraḥ kāyād dharāmi te

gopāyeta haris tvādya

yas te śaraṇam īpsitam

Translation

Because you are speaking so much nonsense, I shall now sever your head from your body. Now let me see your most worshipable God come to protect you. I want to see it.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Disbelief Challenges the Lord’s Protection

  1. 1

    Hiraṇyakaśipu threatened to sever Prahlāda’s head and challenged his worshipable Lord to protect him.

  2. 2

    The purport explains that demons regard the devotees’ God as fictitious and devotion as an illusion. Hiraṇyakaśipu would not believe that the Lord was present everywhere.

  3. 3

    Convinced that no one could protect Prahlāda, Hiraṇyakaśipu felt encouraged to kill him. His challenge opposed the truth that the devotee is always protected by the Supreme Lord.

Key points from the purport
  • Demons always think that the God of the devotees is fictitious.
  • Hiraṇyakaśipu did not believe Prahlāda Mahārāja when Prahlāda asserted that his Lord is present everywhere.
  • Because Hiraṇyakaśipu, as a typical demon, was convinced that there is no God and that no one could protect Prahlāda, he felt encouraged to kill his son.

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

Terror and divine fury → Protection and compassion. The crisis resolves through relationship rather than domination.

Chapters 8–10 of Canto 7: Nṛsiṁhadeva appears; Prahlāda pacifies Him. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 8: Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva Slays the King of the Demons

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

After hearing of this, Hiraṇyakaśipu decided to kill his son Prahlāda. Hiraṇyakaśipu was so angry that Prahlāda Mahārāja fell down at his feet and said many things just to pacify him, but he was unsuccessful in satisfying his demoniac father.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.8
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥhe
  2. ahamI
  3. vikatthamānasyawho are speaking such nonsense
  4. śiraḥthe head
  5. kāyātfrom the body
  6. harāmiI shall take away
  7. teof you
  8. gopāyetalet Him protect
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 7.8

    In this verse: “worshipable”, “devotion”, “devotees’”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 7.8

    In this verse: “protect”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 7.8

    In this verse: “illusion”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How do I respond when devotion to the Lord is dismissed as an illusion?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer expressing your trust in the Supreme Lord as your protector.

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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 7.8's connections

Live this todayDisbelief Challenges the Lord’s ProtectionThis 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 7.8.13? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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