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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

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 23: The Demigods Regain the Heavenly Planets

8.23.9 8.23.11-12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.23.10

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 8.23.9inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

नित्यं द्रष्टासि मां तत्र गदापाणिमवस्थितम् ।

मद्दर्शनमहाह्लादध्वस्तकर्मनिबन्धन: ॥ १० ॥

nityaṁ draṣṭāsi māṁ tatra

gadā-pāṇim avasthitam

mad-darśana-mahāhlāda-

dhvasta-karma-nibandhanaḥ

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead assured Prahlāda Mahārāja: You shall be able to see Me there in My usual feature with conchshell, disc, club and lotus in My hand. Because of your transcendental bliss due to always personally seeing Me, you will have no further bondage to fruitive activities.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Seeing the Lord Frees From Bondage

1
The Lord assured Prahlāda Mahārāja that he would always see Him with conchshell, disc, club and lotus. The transcendental bliss of seeing Him would end bondage to fruitive activities.
2
Attachment to fruitive activities leads one to accept another material body. This repeated birth and death is called saṁsāra-bandhana.
3
To stop this bondage, a devotee is advised to see the Supreme Lord constantly. The kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, or beginner devotee, is therefore advised to visit the temple daily and regularly see the Lord’s form.

Key points from the purport

Karma-bandha, the bondage of fruitive activities, entails the repetition of birth and death.
As long as one is attached to fruitive activities, he must accept another material body.
Thus the neophyte devotee can be freed from the bondage of fruitive activities.

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

Chapter 23: The Demigods Regain the Heavenly Planets

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Prahlāda Mahārāja, being aware of Bali’s release from arrest, then described the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in this material world. Prahlāda Mahārāja praised the Supreme Lord for creating the material world, for being equal to everyone and for being extremely liberal to the devotees, just like a desire tree.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 8.23

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

nityamconstantly
draṣṭāthe seer
asiyou shall be
māmunto Me
tatrathere (in Sutalaloka)
gadā-pāṇimwith a club in My hand
avasthitamsituated there
mat-darśanaby seeing Me in that form

Key ideas in this verse

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

Mukti · Liberation
What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 8.23
In this verse: “attachment”, “material”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 8.23
In this verse: “devotee”
Abhaya · Fearlessness
Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 8.23
In this verse: “death”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I make regularly seeing the Lord’s form part of my devotional life?

Practice

If possible, visit a temple today and spend a few attentive moments seeing the Lord’s form.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Prahlāda MahārājaSB 7.5 · Prahlāda remains faithfulPrahlāda’s devotion does not depend on his teachers’ approval or his father’s favor. His spiritual understanding makes him equal toward everyone.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 8.23's connections

Live this todaySeeing the Lord Frees From BondageThis 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 8.23.10? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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