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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
7.9.187.9.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.9.19

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

बालस्य नेह शरणं पितरौ नृसिंह

नार्तस्य चागदमुदन्वति मज्जतो नौ: ।

तप्तस्य तत्प्रतिविधिर्य इहाञ्जसेष्ट-

स्तावद्विभो तनुभृतां त्वदुपेक्षितानाम् ॥ १९ ॥

bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha

nārtasya cāgadam udanvati majjato nauḥ

taptasya tat-pratividhir ya ihāñjaseṣṭas

tāvad vibho tanu-bhṛtāṁ tvad-upekṣitānām

Translation

My Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, O Supreme, because of a bodily conception of life, embodied souls neglected and not cared for by You cannot do anything for their betterment. Whatever remedies they accept, although perhaps temporarily beneficial, are certainly impermanent. For example, a father and mother cannot protect their child, a physician and medicine cannot relieve a suffering patient, and a boat on the ocean cannot protect a drowning man.

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 Is Our Ultimate Shelter

  1. 1

    Parents, medicine and other protective measures may help temporarily, but none can guarantee permanent protection. Birth, death, old age and disease cannot be conquered by material arrangements.

  2. 2

    One must accept remedial measures as a matter of routine duty while depending fully on the Lord’s causeless mercy. Taking shelter of Him does not mean neglecting practical care.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, assures that His devotee never perishes. Awakening Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the remedy for a life without lasting peace and happiness.

Key points from the purport
  • Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (13.9) that the real sufferings of the material world are four — janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (birth, death, old age and disease).
  • We can never be happy without the mercy of the Supreme Lord (tvad-upekṣitānām).
  • If we keep displeasing our supreme father, we shall never be happy within this material world, in either the upper or lower planetary systems.

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· 5

The purport of SB 7.9.19 quotesBG 9.31

As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.31), kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: “O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.”

The purport of SB 7.9.19 quotesBG 13.9

Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (13.9) that the real sufferings of the material world are four — janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (birth, death, old age and disease).

Quoted in the purport ofSB 8.2.32

tāvad vibho tanu-bhṛtāṁ tvad-upekṣitānām. We may invent so many ways to be happy or to counteract the dangers of this material world, but unless our attempts are sanctioned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they will never make us happy.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 10.2.26

tāvad vibho tanu-bhṛtāṁ tvad-upekṣitānām. If neglected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a child, despite the presence of his parents, will suffer, and a diseased person, despite all medical help, will die.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 10.8.42

As stated by Prahlāda Mahārāja, bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha: a father and mother cannot ultimately take care of their children.

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 9: Prahlāda Pacifies Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva with Prayers

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Although there are so-called material protectors like Lord Brahmā and the other demigods, or even one’s own father, they are unable to do anything if one is neglected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, one who has fully taken shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet can be saved from the onslaught of material nature.
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. bālasyaof a little child
  2. nanot
  3. ihain this world
  4. śaraṇamshelter (protection)
  5. pitarauthe father and mother
  6. nṛsiṁhaO my Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva
  7. naneither
  8. ārtasyaof a person suffering from some disease
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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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

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

    In this verse: “mother”, “father”, “child”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

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

    In this verse: “protect”, “protective”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 7.9

    In this verse: “suffering”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I fulfill my practical duties while remembering my dependence on the Lord’s mercy?

Practice

While taking one ordinary measure to care for yourself or someone else today, offer a brief prayer for the Lord’s mercy.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

2 lectures given on it · quoted in 10 more lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 10 other lectures

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

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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 7.9's connections

Live this todayThe Lord Is Our Ultimate ShelterThis 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 7.9.19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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