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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.7.28

Who is speaking and story frame

कुक्षि: समुद्रा गिरयोऽस्थिसङ्घा

रोमाणि सर्वौषधिवीरुधस्ते ।

छन्दांसि साक्षात् तव सप्त धातव-

स्त्रयीमयात्मन् हृदयं सर्वधर्म: ॥ २८ ॥

kukṣiḥ samudrā girayo ’sthi-saṅghā

romāṇi sarvauṣadhi-vīrudhas te

chandāṁsi sākṣāt tava sapta dhātavas

trayī-mayātman hṛdayaṁ sarva-dharmaḥ

Translation

O lord, you are the three Vedas personified. The seven seas are your abdomen, and the mountains are your bones. All drugs, creepers and vegetables are the hairs on your body, the Vedic mantras like Gāyatrī are the seven layers of your body, and the Vedic religious system is the core of your heart.

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.

Nature and Vedic Wisdom in the Lord

  1. 1

    The prayer addresses the lord as the three Vedas personified. The seven seas are his abdomen, and the mountains are his bones.

  2. 2

    All drugs, creepers and vegetables are described as the hairs on his body.

  3. 3

    Vedic mantras such as Gāyatrī are the seven layers of his body. The Vedic religious system is the core of his heart.

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 7: Lord Śiva Saves the Universe by Drinking Poison

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Lord Śiva is called Āśutoṣa because he is very pleased if one is a devotee. Therefore he easily agreed to drink all the poison generated by the churning.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.7
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kukṣiḥabdomen
  2. samudrāḥthe oceans
  3. girayaḥthe mountains
  4. asthibones
  5. saṅghāḥcombination
  6. romāṇithe hairs of the body
  7. sarvaall
  8. auṣadhidrugs
3

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

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 8.7

    In this verse: “religious”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does placing the Vedic religious system at the core of the lord’s heart suggest to you?

Practice

Notice a plant today and recall how this prayer includes plants in its reverent description of the lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayNature and Vedic Wisdom in 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 8.7.28? Get an answer from the verses themselves.