1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 8 · Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations · 24 chapters

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 8.1.15

Who is speaking and story frame

ईहते भगवानीशो न हि तत्र विसज्जते ।

आत्मलाभेन पूर्णार्थो नावसीदन्ति येऽनु तम् ॥ १५ ॥

īhate bhagavān īśo

na hi tatra visajjate

ātma-lābhena pūrṇārtho

nāvasīdanti ye ’nu tam

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is full in opulence by His own gain, yet He acts as the creator, maintainer and annihilator of this material world. In spite of acting in that way, He is never entangled. Hence devotees who follow in His footsteps are also never entangled.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Follow Kṛṣṇa Without Becoming Entangled

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is self-satisfied and complete in all opulence. Although He creates, maintains and annihilates the material world, He never becomes entangled.

  2. 2

    We are eternal, minute parts of the Lord, but material attraction entangles us in repeated bodily existence. Kṛṣṇa teaches us how to work without this bondage, and following His instructions brings liberation.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa asks us to think of Him, become His devotees, worship Him and offer Him obeisances. Through devotional service, we gradually understand Him and become free from material bondage.

Key points from the purport
  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, appears in order to teach us how to work so that we will not be entangled in this material world.
  • The Supreme Lord is full in everything, and the small particles of the Lord are also originally qualified like Him, but because of their minute existence, they are infected by material attraction and thus entangled.
  • We must therefore follow the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and then, like Kṛṣṇa, who is never entangled by His material activities of creation, maintenance and annihilation, we will have nothing for which to lament (nāvasīdanti ye ’nu tam).

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· 3

The purport of SB 8.1.15 quotesBG 3.9

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9), yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ: “Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed; otherwise work binds one to this material world.”

The purport of SB 8.1.15 quotesBG 15.7

As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): “The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts.

The purport of SB 8.1.15 quotesBG 18.65

Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me.”

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:

He desired to understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends — not only in the past but at the present and in the future — and how He acts in various pastimes as Manu. 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.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.1
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. īhateengages in activities of creation, maintenance and annihilation
  2. bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa
  3. īśaḥthe supreme controller
  4. nanot
  5. hiindeed
  6. tatrain such activities
  7. visajjateHe becomes entangled
  8. ātma-lābhenabecause of His own gain
3

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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotees”, “devotional service”, “worship”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 8.1

    In this verse: “free from”

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

Which of Kṛṣṇa’s instructions given here can you follow more consciously today?

Practice

Offer respectful obeisances to Kṛṣṇa today, remembering His instruction to become His devotee.

Live this todayFollow Kṛṣṇa Without Becoming EntangledThis 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 8.1.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.