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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 12: The Mohinī-mūrti Incarnation Bewilders Lord Śiva
8.12.108.12.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.12.11

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Mahādevasince 8.12.4inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

स त्वं समीहितमद: स्थितिजन्मनाशंभूतेहितं च जगतो भवबन्धमोक्षौ । वायुर्यथा विशति खं च चराचराख्यंसर्वं तदात्मकतयावगमोऽवरुन्‍त्से ॥ ११ ॥

sa tvaṁ samīhitam adaḥ sthiti-janma-nāśaṁ

bhūtehitaṁ ca jagato bhava-bandha-mokṣau

vāyur yathā viśati khaṁ ca carācarākhyaṁ

sarvaṁ tad-ātmakatayāvagamo ’varuntse

Translation

My Lord, You are the supreme knowledge personified. You know everything about this creation and its beginning, maintenance and annihilation, and You know all the endeavors made by the living entities, by which they are either implicated in this material world or liberated from it. As the air enters the vast sky and also enters the bodies of all moving and nonmoving entities, You are present everywhere, and therefore You are the knower of all.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Govinda Is Present Everywhere

  1. 1

    Although Govinda always resides in His own abode, Goloka, He is simultaneously present everywhere. By His plenary portion, He enters every universe and every atomic particle.

  2. 2

    Nothing is unknown to the Lord, and nothing can be hidden from Him. He knows creation, maintenance and annihilation, as well as the endeavors that bind or liberate living entities.

  3. 3

    The air is present in the vast sky and within every body, yet remains different from them. This comparison helps explain the Lord’s presence everywhere while remaining distinct.

Key points from the purport
  • Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa.”
  • Although Govinda is always present in His abode (goloka eva nivasati), He is simultaneously present everywhere.
  • The example given here compares the Lord to the air, which is within the vast sky and within every body but still is different from everything.

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

Danger and ambition → Divine rescue and surprise. Cooperation, rivalry and revelation alternate rapidly.

Chapters 5–12 of Canto 8: Churning the ocean, poison and nectar. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 12: The Mohinī-mūrti Incarnation Bewilders Lord Śiva

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Lord Śiva offered obeisances to the Supreme Lord as the all-pervading Lord, the universal form, the supreme controller of creation, the Supersoul, the resting place for everyone, and the completely independent cause of all causes. Thus he offered prayers giving truthful descriptions of the Lord.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.12
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥYour Lordship
  2. tvamthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  3. samīhitamwhich has been created (by You)
  4. adaḥof this material cosmic manifestation
  5. sthiti-janma-nāśamcreation, maintenance and annihilation
  6. bhūtaof the living entities
  7. īhitam caand the different activities or endeavors
  8. jagataḥof the whole world
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 8.12

    In this verse: “material”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 8.12

    In this verse: “knowledge”

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 might remembering that nothing is hidden from Govinda affect my choices?

Practice

Before one action today, pause and remember that Govinda knows both your action and your intention.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayGovinda Is Present EverywhereThis 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 8.12.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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