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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
7.8.3-47.8.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.8.5

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Hiraṇyakaśipusince 7.8.5inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

श्रीहिरण्यकशिपुरुवाच

हे दुर्विनीत मन्दात्मन्कुलभेदकराधम ।

स्तब्धं मच्छासनोद्‌वृत्तं नेष्ये त्वाद्य यमक्षयम् ॥ ५ ॥

śrī-hiraṇyakaśipur uvāca

he durvinīta mandātman

kula-bheda-karādhama

stabdhaṁ mac-chāsanodvṛttaṁ

neṣye tvādya yama-kṣayam

Translation

Hiraṇyakaśipu said: O most impudent, most unintelligent disruptor of the family, O lowest of mankind, you have violated my power to rule you, and therefore you are an obstinate fool. Today I shall send you to the place of Yamarāja.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

A Devotee Works for Everyone’s Deliverance

  1. 1

    Hiraṇyakaśipu’s insults receive a different meaning in Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura’s explanation. Prahlāda was especially brought into this world by the Supreme Lord’s mercy to teach people how to leave material suffering.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa and His devotee share the mission of freeing conditioned souls from māyā. Prahlāda is a benefactor even of those who are slow in spiritual realization.

  3. 3

    Prahlāda made no distinction between one living entity and another. A devotee cares for Kṛṣṇa’s instructions rather than the instructions of demons.

Key points from the purport
  • By the mercy of the Supreme Lord, Prahlāda Mahārāja was especially brought to this material world to teach people how to get out of the material condition.
  • Prahlāda Mahārāja is the guide of all the mandas, or bad living entities who are under the influence of māyā.
  • Because Prahlāda Mahārāja, being a great devotee, was better than any yogī, Hiraṇyakaśipu was to be brought among the society of bhakti-yogīs.

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 7.8.5 quotesSB 1.1.10

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.10), mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā.

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

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:

Following the instructions of Prahlāda Mahārāja, all the sons of the demons became attached to Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When this attachment became pronounced, their teachers, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, were very much afraid that the boys would become more and more devoted to the Lord.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.8
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-hiraṇyakaśipuḥ uvācathe blessed Hiraṇyakaśipu said
  2. heO
  3. durvinītamost impudent
  4. manda-ātmanO stupid fool
  5. kula-bheda-karawho are bringing about a disruption in the family
  6. adhamaO lowest of mankind
  7. stabdhammost obstinate
  8. mat-śāsanafrom my ruling
3

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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “māyā”, “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotee”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 7.8

    In this verse: “suffering”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Does my concern for spiritual welfare extend beyond my own family?

Practice

Offer one person outside your family a kind opportunity to hear an instruction about devotion from this purport.

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.

The purport quotesSB 1.1.10

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 7.8's connections

Live this todayA Devotee Works for Everyone’s DeliveranceThis 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 7.8.5? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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