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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
8.5.488.5.50

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.5.49

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

यथा हि स्कन्धशाखानां तरोर्मूलावसेचनम् ।

एवमाराधनं विष्णो: सर्वेषामात्मनश्च हि ॥ ४९ ॥

yathā hi skandha-śākhānāṁ

taror mūlāvasecanam

evam ārādhanaṁ viṣṇoḥ

sarveṣām ātmanaś ca hi

Translation

When one pours water on the root of a tree, the trunk and branches of the tree are automatically pleased. Similarly, when one becomes a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu, everyone is served, for the Lord is the Supersoul of everyone.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Serve Everyone by Worshiping Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    Watering a tree’s root nourishes its trunk and branches. Similarly, worshiping Lord Viṣṇu serves everyone because He is everyone’s Supersoul.

  2. 2

    Worship of Lord Viṣṇu is the best worship, and worship of His devotee, the Vaiṣṇava, is still better. Worshiping Lord Viṣṇu can fulfill the results sought through worship of different demigods.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa consciousness is meant for the welfare of the whole world, without discrimination by caste, creed, religion, or nationality. Worshiping Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and origin of viṣṇu-tattva, brings full satisfaction and perfection.

Key points from the purport
  • Because people are embarrassed by so many material desires, they worship Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā, the goddess Kālī, Durgā, Gaṇeśa and Sūrya to achieve different results.
  • However, one can achieve all these results simultaneously just by worshiping Lord Viṣṇu.
  • Similarly, by worshiping Lord Viṣṇu one can satisfy everyone.”

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 8.5.49 quotesSB 4.31.14

As stated elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam (4.31.14): “Just by pouring water on the root of a tree, one nourishes its trunk and all of its branches, fruits and flowers, and just by supplying food to the stomach, one satisfies all the limbs of the body.

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:

When the demigods were deprived of their heavenly kingdom, they went to the assembly house of Lord Brahmā and informed Lord Brahmā of what had happened. Then Brahmā, along with all the demigods, went to the shore of the Ocean of Milk and offered prayers to Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yathāas
  2. hiindeed
  3. skandhaof the trunk
  4. śākhānāmand of the branches
  5. taroḥof a tree
  6. mūlathe root
  7. avasecanamwatering
  8. evamin this way
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 8.5

    In this verse: “devotee”, “worshiping”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 8.5

    In this verse: “religion”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 8.5

    In this verse: “welfare”

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

How does the image of watering the root broaden your understanding of devotional service?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer of worship to Kṛṣṇa today, remembering that service to Him benefits everyone.

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.

The purport quotesSB 4.31.14

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 8.5's connections

Live this todayServe Everyone by Worshiping KṛṣṇaThis 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 8.5.49? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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