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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

8.23.14 8.23.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.23.15

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukrācāryasince 8.23.15inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीशुक्र उवाच

कुतस्तत्कर्मवैषम्यं यस्य कर्मेश्वरो भवान् ।

यज्ञेशो यज्ञपुरुष: सर्वभावेन पूजित: ॥ १५ ॥

śrī-śukra uvāca

kutas tat-karma-vaiṣamyaṁ

yasya karmeśvaro bhavān

yajñeśo yajña-puruṣaḥ

sarva-bhāvena pūjitaḥ

Translation

Śukrācārya said: My Lord, You are the enjoyer and lawgiver in all performances of sacrifice, and You are the yajña-puruṣa, the person to whom all sacrifices are offered. If one has fully satisfied You, where is the chance of discrepancies or faults in his performances of sacrifice?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Perfection of Duty Is Pleasing God

1
The Lord is the supreme proprietor and the enjoyer of all sacrifices. He is the actual person to be satisfied by their performance.
2
All divisions of society and orders of life are meant to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu. The highest perfection of prescribed duty is to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
3
Since Bali Mahārāja had satisfied the Lord, he had no faults. Śukrācārya admitted that cursing him was not good.

Key points from the purport

In Bhagavad-gītā (5.29) the Lord says, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram: the Lord, the supreme proprietor, is the actual person to be satisfied by the performance of yajñas.
All the Vedic ritualistic sacrifices are performed for the purpose of satisfying Lord Viṣṇu, the yajña-puruṣa.
Therefore, since Bali Mahārāja had satisfied the Lord, he had no faults, and Śukrācārya admitted that cursing him was not good.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 2

The purport of SB 8.23.15 quotesBG 5.29

In Bhagavad-gītā (5.29) the Lord says, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram: the Lord, the supreme proprietor, is the actual person to be satisfied by the performance of yajñas.

The purport of SB 8.23.15 quotesSB 1.2.13

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.13), Sūta Gosvāmī says: “O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging his prescribed duties according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead.”

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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:

The Lord then ordered Śukrācārya to describe Bali Mahārāja’s faults and discrepancies in executing the sacrificial ceremony. Śukrācārya became free from fruitive actions by chanting the holy name of the Lord, and he explained how chanting can diminish all the faults of the conditioned soul.

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

śrī-śukraḥ uvācaŚrī Śukrācārya said
kutaḥwhere is that
tatof him (Bali Mahārāja)
karma-vaiṣamyamdiscrepancy in discharging fruitive activities
yasyaof whom (Bali Mahārāja)
karma-īśvaraḥthe master of all fruitive activities
bhavānYour Lordship
yajña-īśaḥYou are the enjoyer of all sacrifices

Key ideas in this verse

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

Āśraya · The summum bonum
Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10
Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct
Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 8.23
In this verse: “duty”

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 would my attitude toward daily duties change if pleasing the Lord were my aim?

Practice

Before one duty today, pause and consciously make pleasing the Lord your purpose.

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.

The purport quotesSB 1.2.13

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

Live this todayThe Perfection of Duty Is Pleasing GodThis 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 8.23.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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