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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 9 · Liberation · 24 chapters

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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 9 · Chapter 8: The Sons of Sagara Meet Lord Kapiladeva
9.8.219.8.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.8.22

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Aṁśumānsince 9.8.21inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

ये देहभाजस्त्रिगुणप्रधाना

गुणान् विपश्यन्त्युत वा तमश्च ।

यन्मायया मोहितचेतसस्त्वां

विदु: स्वसंस्थं न बहि:प्रकाशा: ॥ २२ ॥

ye deha-bhājas tri-guṇa-pradhānā

guṇān vipaśyanty uta vā tamaś ca

yan-māyayā mohita-cetasas tvāṁ

viduḥ sva-saṁsthaṁ na bahiḥ-prakāśāḥ

Translation

My Lord, You are fully situated in everyone’s heart, but the living entities, covered by the material body, cannot see You, for they are influenced by the external energy, conducted by the three modes of material nature. Their intelligence being covered by sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa, they can see only the actions and reactions of these three modes of material nature. Because of the actions and reactions of the mode of ignorance, whether the living entities are awake or sleeping, they can see only the workings of material nature; they cannot see Your Lordship.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Loving Service and Cleanliness Reveal the Lord

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated in everyone’s heart. Conditioned souls see only the actions and reactions of material nature because their intelligence is covered.

  2. 2

    Without transcendental loving service, one cannot understand the Lord. Devotional service is therefore essential, not merely external observation.

  3. 3

    Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches external cleanliness through bathing three times daily and internal cleanliness through chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. By following this principle, one may eventually see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face.

Key points from the purport
  • Unless one is situated in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, one is unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • However, because the conditioned souls are influenced by material nature, they can see only the actions and reactions of material nature, but not the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Then it will one day be possible to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face.

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

Attachment and struggle → Renunciation and responsibility. Multiple royal lives reveal the cost of choices.

Chapters 6–9 of Canto 9: Saubhari, Sagara and Bhagīratha's lineage. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 8: The Sons of Sagara Meet Lord Kapiladeva

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Keśinī, the second wife of King Sagara, had a son named Asamañjasa, whose son Aṁśumān later searched for the horse and delivered his uncles. Upon approaching Kapiladeva, Aṁśumān saw both the horse meant for sacrifice and a pile of ashes.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 9.8
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yethose persons who
  2. deha-bhājaḥhave accepted the material body
  3. tri-guṇa-pradhānāḥinfluenced by the three modes of material nature
  4. guṇānthe manifestation of the three modes of material nature
  5. vipaśyantican see only
  6. utait is so said
  7. vāeither
  8. tamaḥthe mode of ignorance
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 9.8

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 9.8

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 9.8

    In this verse: “chanting”

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 much care do I give to cleansing my heart as well as my body?

Practice

Set aside a few quiet minutes today to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayLoving Service and Cleanliness Reveal 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 9.8.22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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