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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
9.8.239.8.25

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.8.24

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

प्रशान्त मायागुणकर्मलिङ्ग-

मनामरूपं सदसद्विमुक्तम् ।

ज्ञानोपदेशाय गृहीतदेहं

नमामहे त्वां पुरुषं पुराणम् ॥ २४ ॥

praśānta māyā-guṇa-karma-liṅgam

anāma-rūpaṁ sad-asad-vimuktam

jñānopadeśāya gṛhīta-dehaṁ

namāmahe tvāṁ puruṣaṁ purāṇam

Translation

O completely peaceful Lord, although material nature, fruitive activities and their consequent material names and forms are Your creation, You are unaffected by them. Therefore, Your transcendental name is different from material names, and Your form is different from material forms. You assume a form resembling a material body just to give us instructions like those of Bhagavad-gītā, but actually You are the supreme original person. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Form Is Transcendental

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely peaceful and unaffected by His material creation. Material contamination is absent from Him and His pure devotee.

  2. 2

    The Lord has no material name or form, but this does not mean He is formless. He is the original person, with His own transcendental form.

  3. 3

    By serving the Lord constantly, one becomes free from material desires and completely peaceful. The devotee seeks the joy of being His eternal servant.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore the Lord is addressed as praśānta, completely peaceful, free from the disturbances of material existence.
  • The Supreme Lord has no material name or form; only the foolish think that the Lord’s name and form are material (avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam).
  • The Lord is formless in the material sense, but He has His transcendental form (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha).

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:

Aṁśumān then offered respectful obeisances to Kapiladeva, circumambulated Him, and left that place with the horse for sacrifice. When King Sagara finished his yajña, he handed over the kingdom to Aṁśumān and, following the advice of Aurva, attained salvation.
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. praśāntaO completely peaceful one
  2. māyā-guṇathe modes of material nature
  3. karma-liṅgamsymptomized by fruitive activities
  4. anāma-rūpamone who has no material name or form
  5. sat-asat-vimuktamtranscendental to the manifested and nonmanifested modes of material nature
  6. jñāna-upadeśāyafor distributing transcendental knowledge (as in Bhagavad-gītā)
  7. gṛhīta-dehamhas assumed a form like a material body
  8. namāmaheI offer my respectful obeisances
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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 9.8

    In this verse: “material”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 9.8

    In this verse: “contamination”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotee”

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 does understanding the Lord’s transcendental form deepen my desire to serve Him?

Practice

Offer respectful obeisances to the Lord today and pray to serve Him with fewer material desires.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Form Is TranscendentalThis 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 9.8.24? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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