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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 9: Prahlāda Pacifies Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva with Prayers
7.9.127.9.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.9.13

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Prahlāda Mahārājasince 7.9.9inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

सर्वे ह्यमी विधिकरास्तव सत्त्वधाम्नो

ब्रह्मादयो वयमिवेश न चोद्विजन्त: ।

क्षेमाय भूतय उतात्मसुखाय चास्य

विक्रीडितं भगवतो रुचिरावतारै: ॥ १३ ॥

sarve hy amī vidhi-karās tava sattva-dhāmno

brahmādayo vayam iveśa na codvijantaḥ

kṣemāya bhūtaya utātma-sukhāya cāsya

vikrīḍitaṁ bhagavato rucirāvatāraiḥ

Translation

O my Lord, all the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, are sincere servants of Your Lordship, who are situated in a transcendental position. Therefore they are not like us [Prahlāda and his father, the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu]. Your appearance in this fearsome form is Your pastime for Your own pleasure. Such an incarnation is always meant for the protection and improvement of the universe.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Appears to Protect His Devotees

  1. 1

    Devotees are fortunate because they are always ready to follow the Lord’s orders. Prahlāda Mahārāja contrasted this readiness with the demoniac disposition of his family.

  2. 2

    The Supreme Lord’s incarnations perform two functions: saving the devotee and vanquishing the demon. Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared to protect His devotee.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s fierce pastimes are not meant to frighten His devotees. Yet the simple, faithful devotees felt afraid, so Prahlāda Mahārāja sought to pacify Him.

Key points from the purport
  • Prahlāda Mahārāja wanted to assert that his father and the other members of his family were all unfortunate because they were demoniac, whereas the devotees of the Lord are always fortunate because they are always ready to follow the orders of the Lord.
  • Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, for example, appeared for the protection of His devotee.
  • Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja, in the following prayer, requests the Lord to give up His anger.

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 9: Prahlāda Pacifies Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva with Prayers

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

After Hiraṇyakaśipu was killed, the Lord continued to be very angry, and the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, could not pacify Him. Even mother Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, the constant companion of Nārāyaṇa, could not dare come before Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.9
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sarveall
  2. hicertainly
  3. amīthese
  4. vidhi-karāḥexecutors of orders
  5. tavaYour
  6. sattva-dhāmnaḥbeing always situated in the transcendental world
  7. brahma-ādayaḥthe demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā
  8. vayamwe
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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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 7.9

    In this verse: “fearsome”, “afraid”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 7.9

    In this verse: “protection”, “protect”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 7.9

    In this verse: “father”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can readiness to follow the Lord’s orders become more important to you?

Practice

Before offering a prayer today, pause and express your willingness to follow the Lord’s orders.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

5 lectures given on it · quoted in 1 more lecture. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Show 3 more lectures on it
Quoted in 1 other lecture

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

7

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 7.9's connections

Live this todayThe Lord Appears to Protect His DevoteesThis 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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