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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

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

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How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

8.19.19 8.19.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.19.20

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Bali Mahārājasince 8.19.18inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

न पुमान् मामुपव्रज्य भूयो याचितुमर्हति ।

तस्माद् वृत्तिकरीं भूमिं वटो कामं प्रतीच्छ मे ॥ २० ॥

na pumān mām upavrajya

bhūyo yācitum arhati

tasmād vṛttikarīṁ bhūmiṁ

vaṭo kāmaṁ pratīccha me

Translation

O small boy, one who approaches me to beg something should not have to ask anything more, anywhere. Therefore, if You wish, You may ask from me as much land as will suffice to maintain You according to Your needs.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Give Enough to Meet Real Needs

1
Bali wanted anyone who approached him for charity to have no need to beg elsewhere afterward.
2
He invited the small boy to ask for more land if He wished.
3
His offer was for enough land to maintain the recipient according to His needs.

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

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 summary Back to this verse in chapter 8.19