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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 6: The Demigods and Demons Declare a Truce

8.6.11 8.6.13

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.6.12

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 8.6.8inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यथाग्निमेधस्यमृतं च गोषु

भुव्यन्नमम्बूद्यमने च वृत्तिम् ।

योगैर्मनुष्या अधियन्ति हि त्वां

गुणेषु बुद्ध्या कवयो वदन्ति ॥ १२ ॥

yathāgnim edhasy amṛtaṁ ca goṣu

bhuvy annam ambūdyamane ca vṛttim

yogair manuṣyā adhiyanti hi tvāṁ

guṇeṣu buddhyā kavayo vadanti

Translation

As one can derive fire from wood, milk from the milk bag of the cow, food grains and water from the land, and prosperity in one’s livelihood from industrial enterprises, so, by the practice of bhakti-yoga, even within this material world, one can achieve Your favor or intelligently approach You. Those who are pious all affirm this.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Cultivate Devotion To Receive The Lord’s Favor

1
The seed of devotional service comes by the mercy of the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Under the spiritual master’s direction, one must cultivate bhakti-yoga.
2
Only devotional service enables one to achieve the Lord’s favor and see Him, even within this material world. Returning home, back to Godhead, is the ultimate goal of life.
3
The purport encourages agriculture and cow protection as supports for a life attracted to devotional service. For this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, it emphasizes chanting the Lord’s holy name as the means of deliverance.

Key points from the purport

A devotee, however, can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead through the practice of bhakti-yoga.
Thus by devotional service one can achieve the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although He is not visible or understandable to materialistic persons.
One should take ample milk, and thus one can prolong one’s life, develop his brain, execute devotional service, and ultimately attain the favor of 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.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 8.6.12 quotesBG 7.28

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.28): “Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination.”

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

Chapter 6: The Demigods and Demons Declare a Truce

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His various forms, is always present even within this material world, but the material qualities cannot touch Him. One can understand His position only by His instructions, as given in Bhagavad-gītā.”

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 8.6

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

yathāas
agnimfire
edhasiin wood
amṛtammilk, which is like nectar
caand
goṣufrom cows
bhuvion the ground
annamfood grains

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

Mukti · Liberation
What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10
Kṛpā · Divine mercy
Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 8.6
In this verse: “favor”, “mercy”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 8.6
In this verse: “bhakti-yoga”, “devotional service”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 8.6
In this verse: “material”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Are you making time for devotional service as deliberately as you make time for your livelihood?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today to chant the Lord’s holy name attentively.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayCultivate Devotion To Receive The Lord’s FavorThis 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 8.6.12? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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