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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 6: The Demigods and Demons Declare a Truce
8.6.88.6.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.6.9

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 8.6.8inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

रूपं तवैतत् पुरुषर्षभेज्यं

श्रेयोऽर्थिभिर्वैदिकतान्त्रिकेण ।

योगेन धात: सह नस्त्रिलोकान्

पश्याम्यमुष्मिन्नु ह विश्वमूर्तौ ॥ ९ ॥

rūpaṁ tavaitat puruṣarṣabhejyaṁ

śreyo ’rthibhir vaidika-tāntrikeṇa

yogena dhātaḥ saha nas tri-lokān

paśyāmy amuṣminn u ha viśva-mūrtau

Translation

O best of persons, O supreme director, those who actually aspire for supreme good fortune worship this form of Your Lordship according to the Vedic Tantras. My Lord, we can see all the three worlds in You.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Learn Through Service And Disciplic Succession

  1. 1

    Those who desire supreme good fortune worship the Lord’s form according to Vedic instructions. Everything exists in the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  2. 2

    One should approach a spiritual master, inquire submissively and render service. A self-realized soul can impart knowledge because he has seen the truth.

  3. 3

    Lord Brahmā is a self-realized authority, and one must accept the disciplic succession from him to understand the Lord fully. One who worships the Lord can see everything in Him and Him in everything.

Key points from the purport
  • When the devotee sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his meditation, or when he sees the Lord personally, face to face, he becomes aware of everything within this universe.
  • Everything within this material world is fully manifested to a devotee who has seen the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • One must therefore accept the disciplic succession from Lord Brahmā, and then one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in fullness.

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 8.6.9 quotesBG 4.34

Bhagavad-gītā (4.34) therefore advises: “Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master.

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 6: The Demigods and Demons Declare a Truce

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

He is subtler than the most subtle, He is invisible, and His form is inconceivable. He is worshipable for all the demigods.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.6
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. rūpamform
  2. tavaYour
  3. etatthis
  4. puruṣa-ṛṣabhaO best of all personalities
  5. ijyamworshipable
  6. śreyaḥultimate auspiciousness
  7. arthibhiḥby persons who desire
  8. vaidikaunder the direction of Vedic instructions
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 8.6

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “inquire”, “understand”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 8.6

    In this verse: “worship”

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 can you bring more humility and willingness to serve into your spiritual learning?

Practice

Write down one sincere question you would like to ask a spiritual master in Lord Brahmā’s disciplic succession.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayLearn Through Service And Disciplic SuccessionThis 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 8.6.9? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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