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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
8.3.78.3.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 8.3.8-9

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
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

न विद्यते यस्य च जन्म कर्म वा

न नामरूपे गुणदोष एव वा ।

तथापि लोकाप्ययसम्भवाय य:

स्वमायया तान्यनुकालमृच्छति ॥ ८ ॥

तस्मै नम: परेशाय ब्रह्मणेऽनन्तशक्तये ।

अरूपायोरुरूपाय नम आश्चर्यकर्मणे ॥ ९ ॥

na vidyate yasya ca janma karma vā

na nāma-rūpe guṇa-doṣa eva vā

tathāpi lokāpyaya-sambhavāya yaḥ

sva-māyayā tāny anukālam ṛcchati

tasmai namaḥ pareśāya

brahmaṇe ’nanta-śaktaye

arūpāyoru-rūpāya

nama āścarya-karmaṇe

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material birth, activities, name, form, qualities or faults. To fulfill the purpose for which this material world is created and destroyed, He comes in the form of a human being like Lord Rāma or Lord Kṛṣṇa by His original internal potency. He has immense potency, and in various forms, all free from material contamination, He acts wonderfully. He is therefore the Supreme Brahman. I offer my respects to Him.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Names and Activities Are Spiritual

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material form, qualities, or faults; He is the reservoir of all spiritual qualities. Rāma and Kṛṣṇa appear through spiritual potency, not under the force of material energy.

  2. 2

    His protecting devotees and annihilating demons are both transcendental activities. Devotees become His associates in the spiritual planets, while demons He kills attain His impersonal effulgence.

  3. 3

    The names Rāma and Kṛṣṇa are nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. By chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, one associates with Him and becomes liberated.

Key points from the purport
  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material form, qualities or faults.
  • Thus by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra one constantly associates with Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore becomes liberated.
  • Therefore, when the Supreme Personality of Godhead — Rāma or Kṛṣṇa — descends to act transcendentally for our benefit, we should not consider Him an ordinary human being.

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· 1

The purport of SB 8.3.8-9 quotesBG 4.8

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8) by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām.

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

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:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely free from material birth, death, old age and disease. Indeed, if anyone in this material world takes shelter of Him, he also becomes situated in that transcendental position.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nanot
  2. vidyatethere is
  3. yasyaof whom (the Supreme Personality of Godhead)
  4. caalso
  5. janmabirth
  6. karmaactivities
  7. vāor
  8. nanor
3

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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 8.3

    In this verse: “material”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 8.3

    In this verse: “free from”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 8.3

    In this verse: “contamination”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How would my chanting change if I remembered that Kṛṣṇa’s name is nondifferent from Him?

Practice

Chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra for two minutes, remembering that His spiritual name brings His association.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

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

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 8.3's connections

Live this todayThe Lord’s Names and Activities Are SpiritualThis 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 8.3.8-9? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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