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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
8.12.438.12.45

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.12.44

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Śivasince 8.12.43inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यं मामपृच्छस्त्वमुपेत्य योगात्समासहस्रान्त उपारतं वै । स एष साक्षात् पुरुष: पुराणोन यत्र कालो विशते न वेद: ॥ ४४ ॥

yaṁ mām apṛcchas tvam upetya yogāt

samā-sahasrānta upārataṁ vai

sa eṣa sākṣāt puruṣaḥ purāṇo

na yatra kālo viśate na vedaḥ

Translation

When I finished performing mystic yoga for one thousand years, you asked me upon whom I was meditating. Now, here is that Supreme Person to whom time has no entrance and who the Vedas cannot understand.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Supreme Person Is Beyond Time

  1. 1

    Lord Śiva identifies the Supreme Person as the one upon whom he had meditated during one thousand years of mystic yoga.

  2. 2

    Eternal time enters anywhere and everywhere, but it cannot enter the kingdom of God.

  3. 3

    Even the Vedas cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The purport explains that this indicates His being all-powerful, present everywhere, and all-knowing.

Key points from the purport
  • Eternal time enters anywhere and everywhere, but it cannot enter the kingdom of god.
  • Nor can the Vedas understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • This is an indication of the Lord’s being omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.

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:

Otherwise, once a living entity is trapped by the external feature of māyā, he cannot overcome it. After Lord Śiva was graced by the Supreme Lord, he circumambulated the Lord along with his wife, Bhavānī, and his companions, the ghosts.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.12
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yamabout whom
  2. māmfrom me
  3. apṛcchaḥinquired
  4. tvamyou
  5. upetyacoming near me
  6. yogātfrom performing mystic yoga
  7. samāyears
  8. sahasra-anteat the end of one thousand
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “understand”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 8.12

    In this verse: “kingdom”

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 does the Lord’s freedom from time deepen my reverence for Him?

Practice

Spend one quiet minute remembering the Supreme Person as beyond time, all-powerful, and all-knowing.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Supreme Person Is Beyond TimeThis 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 8.12.44? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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