FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.10.29

एतद् वपुस्ते भगवन्ध्यायत: परमात्मन: । सर्वतो गोप्तृ सन्त्रासान्मृत्योरपि जिघांसत: ॥ २९ ॥
etad vapus te bhagavan
[etad vapus te bhagavan]
dhyāyataḥ paramātmanaḥ
[dhyaayatah paramaatmanah]
sarvato goptṛ santrāsān
[sarvato goptri santraasaan]
mṛtyor api jighāṁsataḥ
[mrityor api jighaamsatah]
etat — this vapuḥ — body te — Your bhagavan — O Supreme Personality of Godhead dhyāyataḥ — those who meditate upon parama-ātmanaḥ — of the Supreme Person sarvataḥ — from everywhere goptṛ — the protector santrāsāt — from all kinds of fear mṛtyoḥ api — even from fear of death jighāṁsataḥ — if one is envied by an enemy.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
etad vapus te bhagavan
etat
this
vapuḥ
body
te
Your
bhagavan
O Supreme Personality of Godhead
dhyāyataḥ paramātmanaḥ
dhyāyataḥ
those who meditate upon
parama-ātmanaḥ
of the Supreme Person
sarvato goptṛ santrāsān
sarvataḥ
from everywhere
goptṛ
the protector
santrāsāt
from all kinds of fear
mṛtyor api jighāṁsataḥ
mṛtyoḥ api
even from fear of death
jighāṁsataḥ
if one is envied by an enemy.
My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, You are the Supreme Soul. If one meditates upon Your transcendental body, You naturally protect him from all sources of fear, even the imminent danger of death.

Everyone is sure to die, for no one is excused from the hands of death, which is but a feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead ( mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham ). When one becomes a devotee, however, he is not destined to die according to a limited duration of life. Everyone has a limited duration of life, but a devotee’s lifetime can be extended by the mercy of the Supreme Lord, who is able to nullify the results of one’s karma. Karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājāṁ. This is the statement of Brahma-saṁhitā (5.54) . A devotee is not under the laws of karma. Therefore even a devotee’s scheduled death can be avoided by the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord. God protects the devotee even from the extreme danger of death.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O Lord! You are the protector from all fear and destructive death for the person who meditates upon the form of Paramātmā. You are the protector (goptṛ) from death (mṛtyoḥ).
One who meditates on Your transcendental body is naturally protected from every source of fear, even imminent death. The constitution of fear changes when the object of meditation changes. Meditate on the protector; the threats lose their power.
Reflection Questions
  • Which fear in your life is loudest precisely because you are not meditating on the protector?
  • What practice could shift the object of meditation this week?
📝 My note

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