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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 8: Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva Slays the King of the Demons

7.8.6 7.8.8

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.8.7

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Prahlāda Mahārājasince 7.8.7inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

श्रीप्रह्राद उवाच

न केवलं मे भवतश्च राजन्

स वै बलं बलिनां चापरेषाम् ।

परेऽवरेऽमी स्थिरजङ्गमा ये

ब्रह्मादयो येन वशं प्रणीता: ॥ ७ ॥

śrī-prahrāda uvāca

na kevalaṁ me bhavataś ca rājan

sa vai balaṁ balināṁ cāpareṣām

pare ’vare ’mī sthira-jaṅgamā ye

brahmādayo yena vaśaṁ praṇītāḥ

Translation

Prahlāda Mahārāja said: My dear King, the source of my strength, of which you are asking, is also the source of yours. Indeed, the original source of all kinds of strength is one. He is not only your strength or mine, but the only strength for everyone. Without Him, no one can get any strength. Whether moving or not moving, superior or inferior, everyone, including Lord Brahmā, is controlled by the strength of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is Everyone’s Source of Strength

1
Prahlāda explained that his strength and his father’s strength came from the same source. Everyone, including Lord Brahmā, is controlled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
2
All extraordinary strength, beauty and glory come from Kṛṣṇa’s splendor. Living entities, great and small, depend on His mercy.
3
The living entity is a servant, not an independent master, and the proper duty is surrender. Prahlāda fully surrendered, confident that Kṛṣṇa would protect him under all circumstances.

Key points from the purport

Similarly, all living entities, big or small, are dependent on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The mūḍhas, the asses who do not have this intelligence, cannot surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Understanding the subordinate position of the living entity takes millions of births, but when one is actually wise he surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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· 2

The purport of SB 7.8.7 quotesBG 10.41

Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.41): “Know that all beautiful, glorious and mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.”

The purport of SB 7.8.7 quotesBG 7.19

The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19): “After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is.

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

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 summary Back to this verse in chapter 7.8

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

śrī-prahrādaḥ uvācaPrahlāda Mahārāja replied
nanot
kevalamonly
meof me
bhavataḥof yourself
caand
rājanO great King
saḥhe

Key ideas in this verse

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

Āśraya · The summum bonum
Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10
Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership
Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 7.8
In this verse: “king”
Kṛpā · Divine mercy
Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 7.8
In this verse: “mercy”
Rakṣā · Divine protection
Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 7.8
In this verse: “protect”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What ability do I tend to treat as mine alone rather than as dependent on Kṛṣṇa’s mercy?

Practice

Before using one of your abilities today, acknowledge Kṛṣṇa as its source and offer its use in His service.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is Everyone’s Source of StrengthThis 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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