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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 8.9.29

Who is speaking and story frame

यद् युज्यतेऽसुवसुकर्ममनोवचोभि-

र्देहात्मजादिषु नृभिस्तदसत् पृथक्त्वात् ।

तैरेव सद् भवति यत् क्रियतेऽपृथक्त्वात्

सर्वस्य तद् भवति मूलनिषेचनं यत् ॥ २९ ॥

yad yujyate ’su-vasu-karma-mano-vacobhir

dehātmajādiṣu nṛbhis tad asat pṛthaktvāt

tair eva sad bhavati yat kriyate ’pṛthaktvāt

sarvasya tad bhavati mūla-niṣecanaṁ yat

Translation

In human society there are various activities performed for the protection of one’s wealth and life by one’s words, one’s mind and one’s actions, but they are all performed for one’s personal or extended sense gratification with reference to the body. All these activities are baffled because of being separate from devotional service. But when the same activities are performed for the satisfaction of the Lord, the beneficial results are distributed to everyone, just as water poured on the root of a tree is distributed throughout the entire tree.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Serving Kṛṣṇa Benefits Everyone

  1. 1

    Activities for personal or extended sense gratification are temporary because they are separate from devotional service. Their hopes and results end in bafflement.

  2. 2

    Even a little work for Kṛṣṇa is a permanent, good asset. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everyone’s friend, and the enjoyer and proprietor of everything.

  3. 3

    Spiritual activity aims to satisfy the Lord rather than one’s own senses. It benefits everyone, just as watering a tree’s root nourishes the whole tree.

Key points from the purport
  • A nondevotee works for his personal sense gratification or for the sense gratification of his family, society, community or nation, but because all such activities are separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are considered asat.
  • Therefore any activity performed for the Supreme Lord is permanent.
  • The only distinction between materialistic activity and spiritual activity is that material activity is performed only to satisfy one’s own senses whereas spiritual activity is meant to satisfy the transcendental senses 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.

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 9: The Lord Incarnates as Mohinī-Mūrti

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

After the demigods finished drinking the nectar, the Supreme Personality of Godhead assumed His own form. Śukadeva Gosvāmī ends this chapter by describing how powerful is the chanting of the holy names, pastimes and paraphernalia of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.9
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yatwhatever
  2. yujyateis performed
  3. asufor the protection of one’s life
  4. vasuprotection of wealth
  5. karmaactivities
  6. manaḥby the acts of the mind
  7. vacobhiḥby the acts of words
  8. deha-ātma-ja-ādiṣufor the sake of one’s personal body or family, etc., with reference to the body
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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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 8.9

    In this verse: “sense gratification”, “wealth”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 8.9

    In this verse: “protection”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 8.9

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I make satisfying Kṛṣṇa, rather than satisfying my own senses, the purpose of today’s work?

Practice

Before one task today, pause and consciously make the Lord’s satisfaction your aim; carry out the task in that spirit of service.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayServing Kṛṣṇa Benefits EveryoneThis 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 8.9.29? Get an answer from the verses themselves.