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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 3: Gajendra’s Prayers of Surrender
8.3.38.3.5

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.3.4

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The King of the elephants, Gajendrasince 8.3.2inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

य: स्वात्मनीदं निजमाययार्पितं

क्‍वचिद् विभातं क्‍व च तत् तिरोहितम् ।

अविद्धद‍ृक् साक्ष्युभयं तदीक्षते

स आत्ममूलोऽवतु मां परात्पर: ॥ ४ ॥

yaḥ svātmanīdaṁ nija-māyayārpitaṁ

kvacid vibhātaṁ kva ca tat tirohitam

aviddha-dṛk sākṣy ubhayaṁ tad īkṣate

sa ātma-mūlo ’vatu māṁ parāt-paraḥ

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by expanding His own energy, keeps this cosmic manifestation visible and again sometimes renders it invisible. He is both the supreme cause and the supreme result, the observer and the witness, in all circumstances. Thus He is transcendental to everything. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead give me protection.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Remains Changeless

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead has many potencies. By expanding His own energy, He manifests the universe whenever He desires.

  2. 2

    When the cosmic manifestation is annihilated, it rests in Him. Throughout creation and annihilation, He remains the unfailing observer.

  3. 3

    The Supreme Lord is changeless and aloof from creation and annihilation. Gajendra asks this transcendental Lord for protection.

Key points from the purport
  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead has multipotencies (parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate).
  • Therefore, as soon as He likes, He uses one of His potencies, and by that expansion He creates this cosmic manifestation.
  • Again, when the cosmic manifestation is annihilated, it rests in Him.

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

Helplessness → Surrender and rescue. A mighty animal finally realizes the limits of strength.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 8: Gajendra's struggle and prayers. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 3: Gajendra’s Prayers of Surrender

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

He is the root cause of this cosmic manifestation, and the entire cosmos rests in Him, yet He is transcendental, for He does everything in relation to the material world through His external energy. He is eternally situated in the spiritual world — in Vaikuṇṭha or Goloka Vṛndāvana — where He engages in His eternal pastimes.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.3
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yaḥthe Supreme Personality of Godhead who
  2. sva-ātmaniin Him
  3. idamthis cosmic manifestation
  4. nija-māyayāby His own potency
  5. arpitaminvested
  6. kvacitsometimes, at the beginning of a kalpa
  7. vibhātamit is manifested
  8. kva casometimes, during dissolution
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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

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 8.3

    In this verse: “protection”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the Lord’s changeless nature help me turn to Him for protection?

Practice

Pause today and offer a short prayer asking the changeless Supreme Lord for protection.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Remains ChangelessThis 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 8.3.4? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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