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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

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

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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 9: The Lord Incarnates as Mohinī-Mūrti

8.9.24 8.9.26

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.9.25

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 8.9.11inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

चक्रेण क्षुरधारेण जहार पिबत: शिर: ।

हरिस्तस्य कबन्धस्तु सुधयाप्लावितोऽपतत् ॥ २५ ॥

cakreṇa kṣura-dhāreṇa

jahāra pibataḥ śiraḥ

haris tasya kabandhas tu

sudhayāplāvito ’patat

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, using His disc, which was sharp like a razor, at once cut off Rāhu’s head. When Rāhu’s head was severed from his body, the body, being untouched by the nectar, could not survive.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Reveals Nectar’s Wonderful Effect

1
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, cut off Rāhu’s head with His razor-sharp disc while Rāhu was drinking nectar.
2
The nectar had touched Rāhu’s head but had not entered his body. Therefore his head remained alive, while his body died.
3
This wonderful act of the Lord showed that nectar is miraculous ambrosia.

Key points from the purport

When the Personality of Godhead, Mohinī-mūrti, severed Rāhu’s head from his body, the head remained alive although the body died.
Rāhu had been drinking nectar through his mouth, and before the nectar entered his body, his head was cut off.
This wonderful act performed by the Lord was meant to show that nectar is miraculous ambrosia.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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 9: The Lord Incarnates as Mohinī-Mūrti

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Rāhu, however, had already tasted the nectar, and therefore although his head was severed, he remained alive. After the demigods finished drinking the nectar, the Supreme Personality of Godhead assumed His own form.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 8.9