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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
8.19.88.19.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.19.9

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
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

यतो यतोऽहं तत्रासौ मृत्यु: प्राणभृतामिव ।

अतोऽहमस्य हृदयं प्रवेक्ष्यामि पराग्द‍ृश: ॥ ९ ॥

yato yato ’haṁ tatrāsau

mṛtyuḥ prāṇa-bhṛtām iva

ato ’ham asya hṛdayaṁ

pravekṣyāmi parāg-dṛśaḥ

Translation

Wheresoever I go, Hiraṇyakaśipu will follow Me, as death follows all living entities. Therefore it is better for Me to enter the core of his heart, for then, because of his power to see only externally, he will not see Me.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

External Vision Cannot See the Lord Within

  1. 1

    Lord Viṣṇu considered that Hiraṇyakaśipu would follow Him wherever He went, as death follows all living entities.

  2. 2

    The Lord decided to enter the core of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s heart.

  3. 3

    Hiraṇyakaśipu could see only externally. Therefore he would not see the Lord within his own heart.

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. yataḥ yataḥwheresoever
  2. ahamI
  3. tatrathere indeed
  4. asauthis Hiraṇyakaśipu
  5. mṛtyuḥdeath
  6. prāṇa-bhṛtāmof all living entities
  7. ivajust like
  8. ataḥtherefore
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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 8.19

    In this verse: “death”

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 this verse challenge my habit of relying only on what I can see externally?

Practice

Take one quiet minute to reflect on the limits of external vision described in this verse.

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 todayExternal Vision Cannot See the Lord WithinThis 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 8.19.9? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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