SB 6.8.12
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 12
- oṁ harir vidadhyān mama sarva-rakṣāṁ
- nyastāṅghri-padmaḥ patagendra-pṛṣṭhe
- darāri-carmāsi-gadeṣu-cāpa-
- pāśān dadhāno 'ṣṭa-guṇo 'ṣṭa-bāhuḥ
SYNONYMS
oṁ — O Lord; hariḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vidadhyāt — may He bestow; mama — my; sarva-rakṣām — protection from all sides; nyasta — placed; aṅghri-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 ahaṅgrahopāsanā. Through ahaṅgrahopāsanā 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.