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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.
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Canto 8 · Chapter 23: The Demigods Regain the Heavenly Planets
8.23.68.23.8

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.23.7

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Prahlāda Mahārājasince 8.23.6inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यत्पादपद्ममकरन्दनिषेवणेन

ब्रह्मादय: शरणदाश्नुवते विभूती: ।

कस्माद् वयं कुसृतय: खलयोनयस्ते

दाक्षिण्यद‍ृष्टिपदवीं भवत: प्रणीता: ॥ ७ ॥

yat-pāda-padma-makaranda-niṣevaṇena

brahmādayaḥ śaraṇadāśnuvate vibhūtīḥ

kasmād vayaṁ kusṛtayaḥ khala-yonayas te

dākṣiṇya-dṛṣṭi-padavīṁ bhavataḥ praṇītāḥ

Translation

O supreme shelter of everyone, great personalities like Brahmā enjoy their perfection simply by tasting the honey of rendering service at Your lotus feet. But as for us, who are all rogues and debauchees born of an envious family of demons, how have we received Your mercy? It has been possible only because Your mercy is causeless.

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.

Service Is Sweet; Mercy Is Causeless

  1. 1

    The Lord is the supreme shelter of everyone.

  2. 2

    Great personalities like Brahmā enjoy perfection by tasting the sweetness of service at the Lord’s lotus feet.

  3. 3

    Prahlāda Mahārāja humbly described himself and his people as unworthy. He understood that they had received mercy only because the Lord’s mercy is causeless.

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 23: The Demigods Regain the Heavenly Planets

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The great soul Bali Mahārāja experienced that the highest gain in life is to attain devotional service under the shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet in full surrender. Being fixed in this conclusion, his heart full of ecstatic devotion and his eyes full of tears, he offered obeisances to the Personality of Godhead and then, with his associates, entered the planet known as Sutala.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.23
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yatof whom
  2. pāda-padmaof the lotus flower of the feet
  3. makarandaof the honey
  4. niṣevaṇenaby tasting the sweetness of rendering service
  5. brahma-ādayaḥgreat personalities like Lord Brahmā
  6. śaraṇa-daO my Lord, supreme shelter of everyone
  7. aśnuvateenjoy
  8. vibhūtīḥbenedictions given by You
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 8.23

    In this verse: “mercy”, “causeless”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 8.23

    In this verse: “shelter”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 8.23

    In this verse: “sweetness”

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

Do I approach the Lord’s mercy as a gift rather than something I have earned?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer thanking the Lord for His causeless mercy and expressing your wish to serve Him.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayService Is Sweet; Mercy Is CauselessThis 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 8.23.7? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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