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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 19: Lord Vāmanadeva Begs Charity from Bali Mahārāja
8.19.118.19.13

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.19.12

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Vāmanadevasince 8.19.10inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अपश्यन्निति होवाच मयान्विष्टमिदं जगत् ।

भ्रातृहा मे गतो नूनं यतो नावर्तते पुमान् ॥ १२ ॥

apaśyann iti hovāca

mayānviṣṭam idaṁ jagat

bhrātṛ-hā me gato nūnaṁ

yato nāvartate pumān

Translation

Unable to see Him, Hiraṇyakaśipu said, “I have searched the entire universe, but I could not find Viṣṇu, who has killed my brother. Therefore, He must certainly have gone to that place from which no one returns. [In other words, He must now be dead.]”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Never Dies

  1. 1

    Because Lord Viṣṇu was invisible to him, Hiraṇyakaśipu wrongly concluded that He was dead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead never takes birth or dies.

  2. 2

    Even the living entity, who is part of God, never dies. Both the Lord and the living entity are unborn and inexhaustible personalities.

  3. 3

    Those who complete their Kṛṣṇa consciousness and become free from material desire return to the Lord’s abode without returning here. An imperfect devotee receives a favorable birth to continue developing spiritual consciousness.

Key points from the purport
  • Even the ordinary living entity never takes birth or dies.
  • As indicated by the words yato nāvartate pumān, there is certainly a spiritual kingdom, and if the living entity goes there, he never returns to this material world.
  • Any person who goes back home, back to Godhead, does not return to this material world.

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 8.19.12 quotesBG 2.20

This is the statement of Bhagavad-gītā (2.20).

The purport of SB 8.19.12 quotesBG 4.6

Ajo ’pi sann avyayātmā. Both the Lord and the living entity exist as unborn and inexhaustible personalities.

The purport of SB 8.19.12 quotesBG 4.9

This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9): tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna.

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

Public loss and humiliation → Total surrender. An apparent external defeat conceals a devotional triumph.

Chapters 19–23 of Canto 8: Vāmana tests Bali; Bali offers everything. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 19: Lord Vāmanadeva Begs Charity from Bali Mahārāja

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When Bali Mahārāja, thinking Vāmanadeva to be the son of a brāhmaṇa, told Him to ask for anything He liked, Lord Vāmanadeva praised Hiraṇyakaśipu and Hiraṇyākṣa for their heroic activities, and after thus praising the family in which Bali Mahārāja had been born, He begged the King for three paces of land.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.19
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. apaśyannot seeing Him
  2. itiin this way
  3. ha uvācauttered
  4. mayāby me
  5. anviṣṭamhas been sought
  6. idamthe whole
  7. jagatuniverse
  8. bhrātṛ-hāLord Viṣṇu, who killed the brother
3

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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 8.19

    In this verse: “devotee”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 8.19

    In this verse: “free from”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 8.19

    In this verse: “favorable”

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 knowing that the Lord and the soul never die affect your spiritual priorities?

Practice

Set aside a few minutes today for devotional service, remembering the goal of returning to Kṛṣṇa’s abode.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

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 8.19's connections

Live this todayThe Lord Never DiesThis 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 8.19.12? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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