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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 8 · Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations · 24 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 8 · Chapter 1: The Manus, Administrators of the Universe
8.1.128.1.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.1.13

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Manusince 8.1.9inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

स विश्वकाय: पुरुहूत ईश:

सत्य: स्वयंज्योतिरज: पुराण: ।

धत्तेऽस्य जन्माद्यजयात्मशक्त्या

तां विद्ययोदस्य निरीह आस्ते ॥ १३ ॥

sa viśva-kāyaḥ puru-hūta-īśaḥ

satyaḥ svayaṁ-jyotir ajaḥ purāṇaḥ

dhatte ’sya janmādy-ajayātma-śaktyā

tāṁ vidyayodasya nirīha āste

Translation

The entire cosmic manifestation is the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, who has millions of names and unlimited potencies. He is self-effulgent, unborn and changeless. He is the beginning of everything, but He has no beginning. Because He has created this cosmic manifestation by His external energy, the universe appears to be created, maintained and annihilated by Him. Nonetheless, He remains inactive in His spiritual energy and is untouched by the activities of the material energy.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Know the Lord Through Devotional Service

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead has many names, all nondifferent from Him and carrying His potencies. We should chant the names recommended by saintly persons and the śāstras rather than manufacture names.

  2. 2

    Both material and spiritual energies belong to the Lord, yet He remains untouched by material activities. While we remain in the material energy, He is very difficult to understand.

  3. 3

    To understand the Lord in reality, we must take to bhakti, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This path of devotional service enables us to know Him and become happy.

Key points from the purport
  • By chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, consisting of names of the Supreme Lord, we find that the name has all the potencies of the person.
  • Although the material and spiritual energies both belong to the Lord, He is impossible to understand as long as we are in the material energy.
  • Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55) it is said, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ: one who wants to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in reality must take to the platform of bhakti, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

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 8.1.13 quotesSB 1.7.23

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.7.23): māyāṁ vyudasya cic-chaktyā kaivalye sthita ātmani.

The purport of SB 8.1.13 quotesBG 18.55

Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55) it is said, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ: one who wants to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in reality must take to the platform of bhakti, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

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

Helplessness → Surrender and rescue. A mighty animal finally realizes the limits of strength.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 8: Gajendra's struggle and prayers. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 1: The Manus, Administrators of the Universe

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Since Parīkṣit Mahārāja was eager to know all this, Śukadeva Gosvāmī gradually described all the Manus, beginning with the six Manus who had appeared in the past. The first Manu was Svāyambhuva Manu.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.1
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥthat Supreme Personality of Godhead
  2. viśva-kāyaḥthe total form of the universe (the whole universe is the external body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead)
  3. puru-hūtaḥknown by so many names
  4. īśaḥthe supreme controller (with full power)
  5. satyaḥthe ultimate truth
  6. svayampersonally
  7. jyotiḥself-effulgent
  8. ajaḥunborn, beginningless
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 8.1

    In this verse: “absolute truth”, “understand”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 8.1

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 8.1

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

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can you give chanting the Lord’s holy names a more attentive place in your day?

Practice

Spend one minute attentively chanting the names given here: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare.

5

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 1.7.23

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 8.1's connections

Live this todayKnow the Lord Through Devotional ServiceThis 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 8.1.13? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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