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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
8.5.368.5.38

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.5.37

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

प्राणादभूद् यस्य चराचराणां

प्राण: सहो बलमोजश्च वायु: ।

अन्वास्म सम्राजमिवानुगा वयं

प्रसीदतां न: स महाविभूति: ॥ ३७ ॥

prāṇād abhūd yasya carācarāṇāṁ

prāṇaḥ saho balam ojaś ca vāyuḥ

anvāsma samrājam ivānugā vayaṁ

prasīdatāṁ naḥ sa mahā-vibhūtiḥ

Translation

All living entities, moving and nonmoving, receive their vital force, their bodily strength and their very lives from the air. All of us follow the air for our vital force, exactly as servants follow an emperor. The vital force of air is generated from the original vital force of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. May that Supreme Lord be pleased with us.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Our Vital Force Comes From the Lord

  1. 1

    All living entities, moving and nonmoving, receive vital force, bodily strength, and life from the air.

  2. 2

    Living entities depend on air as servants follow an emperor.

  3. 3

    The vital force of air comes from the original vital force of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The prayer asks that He be pleased with us.

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:

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 summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. prāṇātfrom the vital force
  2. abhūtgenerated
  3. yasyaof whom
  4. cara-acarāṇāmof all living entities, moving and nonmoving
  5. prāṇaḥthe vital force
  6. sahaḥthe basic principle of life
  7. balamstrength
  8. ojaḥthe vital force
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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 8.5

    In this verse: “emperor”

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

What does my dependence on air teach me about my dependence on the Lord?

Practice

Pause for one natural breath today and remember the Supreme Lord as the original source of vital force.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayOur Vital Force Comes From the LordThis 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 8.5.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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