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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 21: Bali Mahārāja Arrested by the Lord
8.21.338.22.1

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.21.34

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 8.21.25inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

विप्रलब्धो ददामीति त्वयाहं चाढ्यमानिना ।

तद् व्यलीकफलं भुङ्‌क्ष्व निरयं कतिचित् समा: ॥ ३४ ॥

vipralabdho dadāmīti

tvayāhaṁ cāḍhya-māninā

tad vyalīka-phalaṁ bhuṅkṣva

nirayaṁ katicit samāḥ

Translation

Being falsely proud of your possessions, you promised to give Me land, but you could not fulfill your promise. Therefore, because your promise was false, you must live for a few years in hellish life.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Everything Belongs to the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    Thinking “I am very rich, and I possess such vast property” is false prestige, another side of material life. Everything belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; no one else possesses anything.

  2. 2

    Bali Mahārāja was a most exalted devotee, yet he had previously maintained a misunderstanding due to false prestige. By the Lord’s order, he went to the hellish planets but lived there more opulently than one could expect in heaven.

  3. 3

    A devotee always lives with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, engaging in His service. Therefore, the devotee is transcendental to both hellish and heavenly residences; devotional service matters more than where one lives.

Key points from the purport
  • The false prestige of thinking “I am very rich, and I possess such vast property” is another side of material life.
  • By the supreme will of the Lord, he now had to go to the hellish planets, but because he went there by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he lived there more opulently than one could expect to live in the planets of heaven.
  • A devotee always lives with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, engaging in His service, and therefore he is always transcendental to hellish or heavenly residences.

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 21: Bali Mahārāja Arrested by the Lord

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When Bali Mahārāja was thus reduced to a helpless position, Lord Viṣṇu asked him for the third step of land. Because Lord Viṣṇu appreciated Bali Mahārāja’s determination and integrity, when Bali Mahārāja was unable to fulfill his promise, Lord Viṣṇu ascertained that the place for him would be the planet Sutala, which is better than the planets of heaven.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.21
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. vipralabdhaḥnow I am cheated
  2. dadāmiI promise I shall give you
  3. itithus
  4. tvayāby you
  5. ahamI am
  6. caalso
  7. āḍhya-mānināby being very proud of your opulence
  8. tattherefore
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 8.21

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotee”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 8.21

    In this verse: “proud”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 8.21

    In this verse: “material”

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 would remembering that everything belongs to the Lord change the way you view your possessions?

Practice

Today, choose one possession you call “mine,” remember that it belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and use it for a small act of devotional service.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayEverything Belongs to the Supreme LordThis 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 8.21.34? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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