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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 5: The Demigods Appeal to the Lord for Protection

8.5.29 8.5.31

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.5.30

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

न यस्य कश्चातितितर्ति मायां

यया जनो मुह्यति वेद नार्थम् ।

तं निर्जितात्मात्मगुणं परेशं

नमाम भूतेषु समं चरन्तम् ॥ ३० ॥

na yasya kaścātititarti māyāṁ

yayā jano muhyati veda nārtham

taṁ nirjitātmātma-guṇaṁ pareśaṁ

namāma bhūteṣu samaṁ carantam

Translation

No one can overcome the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s illusory energy [māyā], which is so strong that it bewilders everyone, making one lose the sense to understand the aim of life. That same māyā, however, is subdued by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who rules everyone and who is equally disposed toward all living entities. Let us offer our obeisances unto Him.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Rules Over Māyā

1
Under māyā, living entities forget that the aim of life is to go back home, back to Godhead.
2
The external energy offers what appears to be happiness in this material world, but this promised fulfillment is a dream.
3
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is beyond the material creation and controls even His powerful illusory energy. He rules all living entities and is equally disposed toward them.

Key points from the purport

The prowess of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, certainly controls all living entities, so much so that the living entities have forgotten the aim of life.
Thus every living being is illusioned by the external energy of the Supreme Lord.
The living entities, however, being subdued by the material energy, have forgotten the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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

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

Chapter 5: The Demigods Appeal to the Lord for Protection

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

This Supreme Personality of Godhead manifested a Vaikuṇṭha planet at the request of Ramādevī. His power and activities are mentioned in the Third Canto.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 8.5

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

nanot
yasyaof whom (the Supreme Personality of Godhead)
kaścaanyone
atititartiis able to overcome
māyāmthe illusory energy
yayāby whom (by the illusory energy)
janaḥpeople in general
muhyatibecome bewildered

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
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 8.5
In this verse: “māyā”, “material”
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 8.5
In this verse: “understand”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where am I seeking lasting fulfillment while forgetting the aim of life?

Practice

Offer respectful obeisances to the Lord today, remembering that returning to Him is life's aim.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Rules Over MāyāThis 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 8.5.30? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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