SB 6.8.12 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

ॐ हरिर्विदध्यान्मम सर्वरक्षां न्यस्ताङ्‌घ्रिपद्म: पतगेन्द्रपृष्ठे । दरारिचर्मासिगदेषुचाप- पाशान् दधानोऽष्टगुणोऽष्टबाहु: ॥ १२ ॥

Verse text

om harir vidadhyān mama sarva-rakṣāṁ nyastāṅghri-padmaḥ patagendra-pṛṣṭhe darāri-carmāsi-gadeṣu-cāpa- pāśān dadhāno ’ṣṭa-guno ’ṣṭa-bāhuḥ

Synonyms

om — 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.].

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

May the Lord, whose feet are placed on the back of Garuḍa, whose eight hands with eight qualities hold the conch, disk, sword, shield, club, arrow, bow and noose, protect me on all sides. Having attained oneness with the Lord in meditation, like rivers entering the ocean, but still remaining separate, one should chant this mantra praying from one’s protection. “The eight qualities” refers to the eight siddhis.

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.