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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 5: The Demigods Appeal to the Lord for Protection
8.5.278.5.29

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.5.28

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 8.5.26inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अजस्य चक्रं त्वजयेर्यमाणं

मनोमयं पञ्चदशारमाशु ।

त्रिनाभि विद्युच्चलमष्टनेमि

यदक्षमाहुस्तमृतं प्रपद्ये ॥ २८ ॥

ajasya cakraṁ tv ajayeryamāṇaṁ

manomayaṁ pañcadaśāram āśu

tri-nābhi vidyuc-calam aṣṭa-nemi

yad-akṣam āhus tam ṛtaṁ prapadye

Translation

In the cycle of material activities, the material body resembles the wheel of a mental chariot. The ten senses [five for working and five for gathering knowledge] and the five life airs within the body form the fifteen spokes of the chariot’s wheel. The three modes of nature [goodness, passion and ignorance] are its center of activities, and the eight ingredients of nature [earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and false ego] comprise the rim of the wheel. The external, material energy moves this wheel like electrical energy. Thus the wheel revolves very quickly around its hub or central support, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul and the ultimate truth. We offer our respectful obeisances unto Him.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Remember the Supersoul at the Center

  1. 1

    The body is compared to a wheel in the cycle of repeated birth and death. Under the hold of material energy, the living entity revolves on this wheel under the Supreme Lord’s direction.

  2. 2

    The material body results from the conditioned soul’s activities. The Supersoul, situated in everyone’s heart, supports the body and directs the living entity’s wanderings.

  3. 3

    The Supersoul is the central reality to whom we should offer respectful obeisances. We should not become so absorbed in material activities that we forget the Absolute Truth.

Key points from the purport
  • Under the clutches of the material energy, the jīvātmā is revolving on the wheel of birth and death under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Every one of us, therefore, should offer respectful obeisances to this central reality.
  • One should not be misguided by the activities of this material world and forget the central point, the Absolute Truth.

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 8.5.28 quotesBG 7.5

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.5): The entire world is going on because the living entity, who is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, is utilizing the material energy.

The purport of SB 8.5.28 quotesBG 18.61

As explained in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61): “The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.”

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

Danger and ambition → Divine rescue and surprise. Cooperation, rivalry and revelation alternate rapidly.

Chapters 5–12 of Canto 8: Churning the ocean, poison and nectar. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 5: The Demigods Appeal to the Lord for Protection

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

His power and activities are mentioned in the Third Canto. The sixth Manu was Cākṣuṣa, the son of Cakṣu Manu.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ajasyaof the living being
  2. cakramthe wheel (the cycle of birth and death in this material world)
  3. tubut
  4. ajayāby the external energy of the Supreme Lord
  5. īryamāṇamgoing around with great force
  6. manaḥ-mayamwhich is nothing but a mental creation depending chiefly on the mind
  7. pañcadaśafifteen
  8. arampossessing spokes
3

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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 8.5

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “absolute truth”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 8.5

    In this verse: “false ego”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 8.5

    In this verse: “material”

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

Which daily activity most easily makes me forget the Supreme Lord at the center?

Practice

Before one ordinary task today, pause and offer respectful obeisances to the Supreme Lord within your heart.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRemember the Supersoul at the CenterThis 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.

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