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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
7.8.177.8.19-22

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.8.18

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
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

स सत्त्वमेनं परितो विपश्यन्

स्तम्भस्य मध्यादनुनिर्जिहानम् ।

नायं मृगो नापि नरो विचित्र-

महो किमेतन्नृमृगेन्द्ररूपम् ॥ १८ ॥

sa sattvam enaṁ parito vipaśyan

stambhasya madhyād anunirjihānam

nāyaṁ mṛgo nāpi naro vicitram

aho kim etan nṛ-mṛgendra-rūpam

Translation

While Hiraṇyakaśipu looked all around to find the source of the sound, that wonderful form of the Lord, which could not be ascertained to be either a man or a lion, emerged from the pillar. In amazement, Hiraṇyakaśipu wondered, “What is this creature that is half man and half lion?”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Power Exceeds Our Calculations

  1. 1

    Seeing the Lord emerge from the pillar, Hiraṇyakaśipu wondered at His half-man, half-lion form. A demon cannot calculate the Supreme Lord’s unlimited potency.

  2. 2

    The Lord’s different potencies work as an automatic exhibition of His knowledge. He is all-powerful and can do whatever He likes.

  3. 3

    Those who regard Kṛṣṇa as an ordinary human being fail to understand His supreme potency. Hiraṇyakaśipu’s calculations of safety could not account for the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s wonderful form.

Key points from the purport
  • A demon cannot calculate the unlimited potency of the Supreme Lord.
  • For a demon it is certainly wonderful that the form of a lion and the form of a man can be united, since a demon has no experience of the inconceivable power for which the Supreme Lord is called “all-powerful.”
  • Demons cannot understand the omnipotence of the Lord.

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:

At first Hiraṇyakaśipu, the King of the demons, could not see anything but the pillar, but to substantiate Prahlāda’s statements, the Lord came out of the pillar in His wonderful incarnation as Narasiṁha, half lion and half man. Hiraṇyakaśipu could immediately understand that the extraordinarily wonderful form of the Lord was surely meant for his death, and thus he prepared to fight with the form of half lion and half man.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.8
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥhe (Hiraṇyakaśipu, the King of the Daityas)
  2. sattvamliving being
  3. enamthat
  4. paritaḥall around
  5. vipaśyanlooking
  6. stambhasyaof the pillar
  7. madhyātfrom the midst
  8. anunirjihānamhaving come out
3

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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 7.8

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understand”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

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

    In this verse: “safety”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where do I limit my understanding of the Lord to what seems possible in ordinary experience?

Practice

Write one sentence acknowledging that Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is not limited by your calculations.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

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 todayThe Lord’s Power Exceeds Our CalculationsThis 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 7.8.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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