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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
8.12.118.12.13

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.12.12

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

अवतारा मया द‍ृष्टा रममाणस्य ते गुणै: । सोऽहं तद्‌द्रष्टुमिच्छामि यत् ते योषिद्वपुर्धृतम् ॥ १२ ॥

avatārā mayā dṛṣṭā

ramamāṇasya te guṇaiḥ

so ’haṁ tad draṣṭum icchāmi

yat te yoṣid-vapur dhṛtam

Translation

My Lord, I have seen all kinds of incarnations You have exhibited by Your transcendental qualities, and now that You have appeared as a beautiful young woman, I wish to see that form of Your Lordship.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Śiva Requests to See Mohinī-mūrti

  1. 1

    Lord Śiva says that he has seen the Lord’s various incarnations, which exhibit His transcendental qualities.

  2. 2

    When Lord Viṣṇu asks the purpose of his visit, Lord Śiva openly expresses his desire. He wants to see the Lord’s form as a beautiful young woman.

  3. 3

    This recent incarnation is Mohinī-mūrti. Lord Viṣṇu assumed this form to distribute the nectar generated from the churning of the Ocean of Milk.

Key points from the purport
  • When Lord Śiva approached Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Viṣṇu inquired about the purpose for Lord Śiva’s coming there.
  • He wanted to see the recent incarnation of Mohinī-mūrti, which Lord Viṣṇu had assumed to distribute the nectar generated from the churning of the Ocean of Milk.

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:

Then he left for his own abode. Śukadeva Gosvāmī concludes this chapter by describing the transcendental qualities of Uttamaśloka, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and by declaring that one can glorify the Lord by nine kinds of devotional service, beginning with śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam.
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. avatārāḥincarnations
  2. mayāby me
  3. dṛṣṭāḥhave been seen
  4. ramamāṇasyawhile You demonstrate Your various pastimes
  5. teof You
  6. guṇaiḥby the manifestations of transcendental qualities
  7. saḥLord Śiva
  8. ahamI
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

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

What draws my interest toward the Lord’s transcendental forms?

Practice

Reread Lord Śiva’s request and put its meaning into one simple sentence.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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Connected stories

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

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 8.12's connections

Live this todayŚiva Requests to See Mohinī-mūrtiThis 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 8.12.12? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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