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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

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 9: Prahlāda Pacifies Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva with Prayers

7.9.25 7.9.27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.9.26

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

क्व‍ाहं रज:प्रभव ईश तमोऽधिकेऽस्मिन्

जात: सुरेतरकुले क्व‍ तवानुकम्पा ।

न ब्रह्मणो न तु भवस्य न वै रमाया

यन्मेऽर्पित: शिरसि पद्मकर: प्रसाद: ॥ २६ ॥

kvāhaṁ rajaḥ-prabhava īśa tamo ’dhike ’smin

jātaḥ suretara-kule kva tavānukampā

na brahmaṇo na tu bhavasya na vai ramāyā

yan me ’rpitaḥ śirasi padma-karaḥ prasādaḥ

Translation

O my Lord, O Supreme, because I was born in a family full of the hellish material qualities of passion and ignorance, what is my position? And what is to be said of Your causeless mercy, which was never offered even to Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva or the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī? You never put Your lotus hand upon their heads, but You have put it upon mine.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Transcends Material Birth

1
Prahlāda Mahārāja was astonished that Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva placed His lotus hand on his head. The Supreme Personality of Godhead’s causeless mercy may be bestowed upon anyone, regardless of material position.
2
Everyone is eligible to worship the Supreme Lord. Continuous, full devotional service carries one beyond the modes of material nature to the spiritual platform.
3
The pure Vaiṣṇava’s body is spiritualized even in this life through full engagement in the Lord’s service. The purport compares this to iron becoming red-hot in fire.

Key points from the purport

Anyone who engages in continuous devotional service to the Lord is situated in the spiritual world and has nothing to do with the material qualities (sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa).
Prahlāda Mahārāja, being a great devotee, thought the body born of his father to be born of passion and ignorance, but because Prahlāda was fully engaged in the service of the Lord, his body did not belong to the material world.
In other words, devotional service is so great that when it is offered even by those born in low families, the Lord accepts it as being more valuable than the service offered by the goddess of fortune.

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 7.9.26 quotesBG 14.26

This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26): “One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.”

The purport of SB 7.9.26 quotesSB 1.2.19

The symptoms of passion and ignorance are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.19) as lust and hankering (tadā rajas tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye).

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 9: Prahlāda Pacifies Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva with Prayers

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Even Lord Brahmā and the goddess of fortune cannot achieve the full favor of the Lord, whereas a devotee can very easily attain such devotional service. The Lord’s mercy is bestowed equally upon everyone, regardless of whether one is high or low.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 7.9

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

kvawhere
ahamI (am)
rajaḥ-prabhavaḥbeing born in a body full of passion
īśaO my Lord
tamaḥthe mode of ignorance
adhikesurpassing in
asminin this
jātaḥborn

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
Kṛpā · Divine mercy
Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 7.9
In this verse: “mercy”, “causeless”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 7.9
In this verse: “devotional service”, “worship”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 7.9
In this verse: “material”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I let my background or material position discourage me from serving the Lord?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today for devotional service, remembering that your material background does not disqualify you.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

SB 7.9.264 Mar 1976 · MayapurListen

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 1.2.19

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 7.9's connections

Live this todayDevotional Service Transcends Material BirthThis 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 7.9.26? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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