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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.9.29

Who is speaking and story frame

मत्प्राणरक्षणमनन्त पितुर्वधश्च

मन्ये स्वभृत्यऋषिवाक्यमृतं विधातुम् ।

खड्‌गं प्रगृह्य यदवोचदसद्विधित्सु-

स्त्वामीश्वरो मदपरोऽवतु कं हरामि ॥ २९ ॥

mat-prāṇa-rakṣaṇam ananta pitur vadhaś ca

manye sva-bhṛtya-ṛṣi-vākyam ṛtaṁ vidhātum

khaḍgaṁ pragṛhya yad avocad asad-vidhitsus

tvām īśvaro mad-aparo ’vatu kaṁ harāmi

Translation

My Lord, O unlimited reservoir of transcendental qualities, You have killed my father, Hiraṇyakaśipu, and saved me from his sword. He had said very angrily, “If there is any supreme controller other than me, let Him save you. I shall now sever your head from your body.” Therefore I think that both in saving me and in killing him, You have acted just to prove true the words of Your devotee. There is no other cause.

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 Upholds His Devotee’s Words

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is equal to everyone, with no friend or enemy. He fulfills desires, and the different positions of living beings arise from their own desires.

  2. 2

    By saving Prahlāda Mahārāja and killing Hiraṇyakaśipu, the Lord fulfilled His own promise and proved Nārada’s assurance true. One action can fulfill many purposes of the Lord.

  3. 3

    Everything is carried out through the Lord’s different energies, so He has no personal work to accomplish. When He acts personally, it is to satisfy His devotee; thus He is called bhakta-vatsala.

Key points from the purport
  • Thus when Hiraṇyakaśipu was going to kill Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Lord saved Prahlāda to fulfill His promise in Bhagavad-gītā (kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati) and to prove true the words of Nārada.
  • Thus the killing of Hiraṇyakaśipu and the saving of Prahlāda were enacted simultaneously to prove the truthfulness of the Lord’s devotee and the fidelity of the Lord Himself to His own purpose.
  • The Lord has multifarious energies, through which everything is done.

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 7.9.29 quotesBG 9.29

In Bhagavad-gītā (9.29) the Lord says: na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ

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. mat-prāṇa-rakṣaṇamsaving my life
  2. anantaO unlimited one, reservoir of unlimited transcendental qualities
  3. pituḥof my father
  4. vadhaḥ caand killing
  5. manyeI consider
  6. sva-bhṛtyaof Your unalloyed servants
  7. ṛṣi-vākyamand the words of the great saint Nārada
  8. ṛtamtrue
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 7.9

    In this verse: “devotee”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

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

    In this verse: “saved”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

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

    In this verse: “father”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the Lord’s faithfulness to His devotee encourage my own devotional service?

Practice

Read the translation once more, then offer a brief prayer of gratitude for the Lord’s care for His devoted servants.

5

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.

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

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Connected stories

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

Live this todayThe Lord Upholds His Devotee’s WordsThis 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 7.9.29? Get an answer from the verses themselves.