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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
7.9.497.9.51

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.9.50

Mukti· Liberation
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

तत्तेऽर्हत्तम नम: स्तुतिकर्मपूजा:

कर्म स्मृतिश्चरणयो: श्रवणं कथायाम् ।

संसेवया त्वयि विनेति षडङ्गया किं

भक्तिं जन: परमहंसगतौ लभेत ॥ ५० ॥

tat te ’rhattama namaḥ stuti-karma-pūjāḥ

karma smṛtiś caraṇayoḥ śravaṇaṁ kathāyām

saṁsevayā tvayi vineti ṣaḍ-aṅgayā kiṁ

bhaktiṁ janaḥ paramahaṁsa-gatau labheta

Translation

Therefore, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, the best of all persons to whom prayers are offered, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You because without rendering six kinds of devotional service unto You — offering prayers, dedicating all the results of activities, worshiping You, working on Your behalf, always remembering Your lotus feet and hearing about Your glories — who can achieve that which is meant for the paramahaṁsas?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Bhakti Is the Essential Path

  1. 1

    Prahlāda names six devotional activities: offering prayers, dedicating the results of activities, worshiping the Lord, working for Him, remembering His lotus feet and hearing His glories.

  2. 2

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is understood only by His grace, not simply through study and prayers. Bhakti is the process for understanding Him.

  3. 3

    A paramahaṁsa accepts the essence of everything: devotional service. Other processes succeed only when mixed with bhakti, and intelligent bhakti-yoga leads back home, back to Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • One cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by studying the Vedas and offering prayers.
  • The process of understanding the Lord, therefore, is bhakti.
  • The results of bhakti are reserved for such a paramahaṁsa, and this stage cannot be obtained by any Vedic process other than devotional service.

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:

One should therefore always engage in devotional service by offering respectful obeisances to the Lord, offering prayers, working for the Lord, worshiping the Lord in the temple, always remembering the Lord and always hearing about His transcendental activities. Without these six kinds of activity, one cannot attain to devotional service.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.9
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tattherefore
  2. teunto You
  3. arhat-tamaO supreme of all worshipable persons
  4. namaḥrespectful obeisances
  5. stuti-karma-pūjāḥworshiping Your Lordship by offering prayers and other devotional activities
  6. karmaactivities being dedicated to You
  7. smṛtiḥconstant remembrance
  8. caraṇayoḥof Your lotus feet
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “worshiping”, “bhakti”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 7.9

    In this verse: “hearing”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 7.9

    In this verse: “grace”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which of these six devotional activities can I give more attention to?

Practice

Spend two minutes offering prayers to the Lord and remembering His lotus feet.

5

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.

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

Live this todayBhakti Is the Essential PathThis 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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