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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.12.8

Who is speaking and story frame

एकस्त्वमेव सदसद्‌द्वयमद्वयं च

स्वर्णं कृताकृतमिवेह न वस्तुभेद: ।

अज्ञानतस्त्वयि जनैर्विहितो विकल्पो

यस्माद् गुणव्यतिकरो निरुपाधिकस्य ॥ ८ ॥

ekas tvam eva sad asad dvayam advayaṁ ca

svarṇaṁ kṛtākṛtam iveha na vastu-bhedaḥ

ajñānatas tvayi janair vihito vikalpo

yasmād guṇa-vyatikaro nirupādhikasya

Translation

My dear Lord, Your Lordship alone is the cause and the effect. Therefore, although You appear to be two, You are the absolute one. As there is no difference between the gold of a golden ornament and the gold in a mine, there is no difference between cause and effect; both of them are the same. Only because of ignorance do people concoct differences and dualities. You are free from material contamination, and since the entire cosmos is caused by You and cannot exist without You, it is an effect of Your transcendental qualities. Thus the conception that Brahman is true and the world false cannot be maintained.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Engage the Lord’s Energies in His Service

  1. 1

    The soul is spiritual and the body is material, but both originate in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They are manifestations of His different energies.

  2. 2

    Like gold in a mine and gold shaped into ornaments, cause and effect share the same substance. Because the world emanates from the Supreme Lord, it should not be dismissed as false.

  3. 3

    Things favorable for the Lord’s service should be accepted without attachment, not rejected as merely material. A flower used for personal enjoyment is material, but the same flower offered to the Lord is spiritual.

Key points from the purport
  • Since the energy and the energetic are not different and since the material and marginal energies are both energies of the supreme energetic, the Supreme Lord, ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead is everything.
  • According to this conception, the cosmic manifestation, consisting of both matter and spirit, is not different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Therefore, the Supreme Lord is everything, and He is one without differentiation.

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 8.12.8 quotesBG 7.4

As the Lord explains in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5):

The purport of SB 8.12.8 quotesBG 9.4

In Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) the Lord says: “By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded.

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

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. ekaḥthe only one
  2. tvamYour Lordship
  3. evaindeed
  4. satwhich is existing, as the effect
  5. asatwhich is nonexistent, as the cause
  6. dvayamboth of them
  7. advayamwithout duality
  8. caand
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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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”, “attachment”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 8.12

    In this verse: “free from”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 8.12

    In this verse: “contamination”

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

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What could you use in Kṛṣṇa’s service rather than only for your own enjoyment?

Practice

Offer one flower to the Supreme Personality of Godhead today, remembering that it is His energy.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayEngage the Lord’s Energies in His 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 8.12.8? Get an answer from the verses themselves.