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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 24: Matsya, the Lord’s Fish Incarnation

8.24.20 8.24.22

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.24.21

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The fishsince 8.24.20inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

तत आदाय सा राज्ञा क्षिप्ता राजन् सरोवरे ।

तदावृत्यात्मना सोऽयं महामीनोऽन्ववर्धत ॥ २१ ॥

tata ādāya sā rājñā

kṣiptā rājan sarovare

tad āvṛtyātmanā so ’yaṁ

mahā-mīno ’nvavardhata

Translation

O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the King took the fish from the well and threw Him in a lake, but the fish then assumed a gigantic form exceeding the extent of the water.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Fish Grows Beyond the Lake

1
The King took the fish out of the well.
2
He then placed Him in a lake.
3
The fish assumed a gigantic form that exceeded the extent of the water.

How it feels

Catastrophe → Trust and protection. Divine guardianship amid destruction closes the canto.

Chapter 24 of Canto 8: Matsya preserves life and knowledge. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 24: Matsya, the Lord’s Fish Incarnation

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Thus He appears in various forms — sometimes as a fish, sometimes a boar, sometimes Nṛsiṁhadeva, sometimes Vāmanadeva and so on — but in any form or incarnation, although He comes within the atmosphere of the material modes of nature, He is unaffected. This is a sign of His supreme controlling power.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 8.24

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

tataḥfrom there
ādāyataking away
sāthe fish
rājñāby the King
kṣiptābeing thrown
rājanO King (Mahārāja Parīkṣit)
sarovarein a lake
tatthat

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
Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership
Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 8.24
In this verse: “king”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What impresses me about the fish becoming larger than the lake itself?

Practice

Read the translation slowly and picture the contrast between the lake and the fish’s gigantic form.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Fish Grows Beyond the LakeThis 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 8.24.21? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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