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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
8.19.38.19.5

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.19.4

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 8.19.2inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

न सन्ति तीर्थे युधि चार्थिनार्थिता:

पराङ्‌मुखा ये त्वमनस्विनो नृप ।

युष्मत्कुले यद्यशसामलेन

प्रह्लाद उद्भ‍ाति यथोडुप: खे ॥ ४ ॥

na santi tīrthe yudhi cārthinārthitāḥ

parāṅmukhā ye tv amanasvino nṛpa

yuṣmat-kule yad yaśasāmalena

prahrāda udbhāti yathoḍupaḥ khe

Translation

O King Bali, never in your dynasty has the low-minded king been born who upon being requested has refused charity to brāhmaṇas in holy places or a fight to kṣatriyas on a battlefield. And your dynasty is even more glorious due to the presence of Prahlāda Mahārāja, who is like the beautiful moon in the sky.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Generosity and Courage Befit a King

  1. 1

    Willingness to give charity is one qualification of a kṣatriya. A kṣatriya does not refuse charity when requested by a brāhmaṇa.

  2. 2

    A kṣatriya also cannot refuse another kṣatriya’s challenge on the battlefield. The purport says that Bali Mahārāja’s dynasty had no low-minded kings who refused these duties.

  3. 3

    Prahlāda Mahārāja made the dynasty even more glorious. The translation compares his presence to the beautiful moon in the sky.

Key points from the purport
  • A kṣatriya does not refuse to give charity when requested by a brāhmaṇa, nor can he refuse to fight another kṣatriya.
  • A king who does refuse is called low-minded.
  • In the dynasty of Bali Mahārāja there were no such low-minded kings.

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

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nanot
  2. santithere are
  3. tīrthein holy places (where charity is given)
  4. yudhiin the battlefield
  5. caalso
  6. arthināby a brāhmaṇa or a kṣatriya
  7. arthitāḥwho have been asked
  8. parāṅmukhāḥwho refused their prayers
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 8.19

    In this verse: “king”, “kings”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 8.19

    In this verse: “duties”

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

When someone needs help, do I willingly accept my responsibility?

Practice

Respond to one request for help today with a small, concrete act of generosity.

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 todayGenerosity and Courage Befit a KingThis 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 8.19.4? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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