Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 6 Chapter 8 Verse 12

Canto 6: Prescribed Duties for Mankind | Chapter 8: The Nārāyaṇa-kavaca Shield

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.8.12

oḿ harir vidadhyān mama sarva-rakṣāḿ

nyastāńghri-padmaḥ patagendra-pṛṣṭhe

darāri-carmāsi-gadeṣu-cāpa-

pāśān dadhāno 'ṣṭa-guṇo 'ṣṭa-bāhuḥ

SYNONYMS

oḿ — O Lord; hariḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vidadhyāt — may He bestow; mama — my; sarva-rakṣām — protection from all sides; nyasta — placed; ańghri-padmaḥ — whose lotus feet; patagendra-pṛṣṭhe — on the back of Garuḍa, the king of all birds; dara — conchshell; ari — disc; carma — shield; asi — sword; gadā — club; iṣu — arrows; cāpa — bow; pāśān — ropes; dadhānaḥ — holding; aṣṭa — possessing eight; guṇaḥ — perfections; aṣṭa — eight; bāhuḥ — arms.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Lord, who sits on the back of the bird Garuḍa, touching him with His lotus feet, holds eight weapons — the conchshell, disc, shield, sword, club, arrows, bow and ropes. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead protect me at all times with His eight arms. He is all-powerful because He fully possesses the eight mystic powers [aṇimā, laghimā, etc.].

PURPORT

Thinking oneself one with the Supreme is called ahańgrahopāsanā. Through ahańgrahopāsanā one does not become God, but he thinks of himself as qualitatively one with the Supreme. Understanding that as a spirit soul he is equal in quality to the supreme soul the way the water of a river is of the same nature as the water of the sea, one should meditate upon the Supreme Lord, as described in this verse, and seek His protection. The living entities are always subordinate to the Supreme. Consequently their duty is to always seek the mercy of the Lord in order to be protected by Him in all circumstances.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness