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Study a Verse

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

8.9.2 8.9.4

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.9.3

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 8.9.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

का त्वं कञ्जपलाशाक्षि कुतो वा किं चिकीर्षसि ।

कस्यासि वद वामोरु मथ्नतीव मनांसि न: ॥ ३ ॥

kā tvaṁ kañja-palāśākṣi

kuto vā kiṁ cikīrṣasi

kasyāsi vada vāmoru

mathnatīva manāṁsi naḥ

Translation

O wonderfully beautiful girl, You have such nice eyes, resembling the petals of a lotus flower. Who are You? Where do You come from? What is Your purpose in coming here, and to whom do You belong? O You whose thighs are extraordinarily beautiful, our minds are becoming agitated simply because of seeing You.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Desire Shapes the Demons' Questions

1
The demons admitted that simply seeing the beautiful girl agitated their minds.
2
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that “To whom do You belong?” means “Whose daughter are You?”
3
The demons understood that She was unmarried, and each of them desired to marry Her.

Key points from the purport

The demons inquired from the wonderfully beautiful girl, “To whom do You belong?”
In regard to this inquiry, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that the question “To whom do You belong?” means “Whose daughter are You?”
Since the demons could understand that the beautiful girl was still unmarried, every one of them desired to marry Her.

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:

When the demons got possession of the container of nectar, an extraordinarily beautiful young woman appeared before them. All the demons became captivated by the young woman’s beauty and became attached to Her.

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