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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

8.5.30 8.5.32

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.5.31

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 8.5.26inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

इमे वयं यत्प्रिययैव तन्वा

सत्त्वेन सृष्टा बहिरन्तरावि: ।

गतिं न सूक्ष्मामृषयश्च विद्महे

कुतोऽसुराद्या इतरप्रधाना: ॥ ३१ ॥

ime vayaṁ yat-priyayaiva tanvā

sattvena sṛṣṭā bahir-antar-āviḥ

gatiṁ na sūkṣmām ṛṣayaś ca vidmahe

kuto ’surādyā itara-pradhānāḥ

Translation

Since our bodies are made of sattva-guṇa, we, the demigods, are internally and externally situated in goodness. All the great saints are also situated in that way. Therefore, if even we cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, what is to be said of those who are most insignificant in their bodily constitutions, being situated in the modes of passion and ignorance? How can they understand the Lord? Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto Him.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Approach the Lord With Humility

1
Even the demigods and great saints situated in goodness do not fully understand the Lord's qualities and position.
2
Although the Supersoul is within everyone, passion and ignorance prevent people from understanding His supremacy. Those who think themselves independent cannot escape Him as death.
3
To gain understanding, the demigods headed by Lord Brahmā offered respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Key points from the purport

Atheists and demons cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although He is situated within everyone.
The Supersoul is situated within them, but because of the predominance of the modes of passion and ignorance, they cannot understand the supremacy of the Lord.
Therefore, to gain this understanding, the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, offered their respectful obeisances to the Lord.

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:

The wife of Vairāja, whose name was Devasambhūti, gave birth to Ajita, an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This Ajita, taking the shape of a tortoise and holding the mountain known as Mandara on His back, churned the ocean and produced nectar for the demigods.

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

imethese
vayamwe (the demigods)
yatto whom
priyayāappearing very near and dear
evacertainly
tanvāthe material body
sattvenaby the mode of goodness
sṛṣṭāḥcreated

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
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 8.5
In this verse: “understand”
Abhaya · Fearlessness
Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 8.5
In this verse: “death”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might a sense of independence keep me from acknowledging the Lord's supremacy?

Practice

Before studying today, offer the Lord respectful obeisances and ask humbly for understanding.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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 8.5's connections

Live this todayApproach the Lord With HumilityThis 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 8.5.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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