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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 1 · Creation · 19 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.

Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Canto 1 · Chapter 11: Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Entrance into Dvārakā

1.11.33 1.11.35

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.11.34

Sthāna· The universe in order

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The citizenssince 1.11.6inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

एवं नृपाणां क्षितिभारजन्मना-

मक्षौहिणीभि: परिवृत्ततेजसाम् ।

विधाय वैरं श्वसनो यथानलं

मिथो वधेनोपरतो निरायुध: ॥ ३४ ॥

evaṁ nṛpāṇāṁ kṣiti-bhāra-janmanām

akṣauhiṇībhiḥ parivṛtta-tejasām

vidhāya vairaṁ śvasano yathānalaṁ

mitho vadhenoparato nirāyudhaḥ

Translation

The Lord was pacified after killing those kings who were burdensome to the earth. They were puffed up with their military strength, their horses, elephants, chariots, infantry, etc. He Himself was not a party in the fight. He simply created hostility between the powerful administrators, and they fought amongst themselves. He was like the wind which causes friction between bamboos and so sparks a fire.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Surrender Frees Us from False Power

1
The Lord is the genuine proprietor and enjoyer of His creation. Under the deluding energy, living beings falsely claim enjoyment and misuse their strength, becoming burdens upon the earth.
2
The Lord relieved the earth by creating hostility among proud, unwanted administrators without Himself joining their fight. This is compared to wind causing friction between bamboos and producing fire.
3
Material activities, speculation and ideology cannot by themselves establish peace and prosperity. Taking shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, frees one from illusion and restores one’s relationship of service to Him.

Key points from the purport

Puffed up by such a false sense of becoming God, the deluded living being increases his material strength by so many activities and thus becomes the burden of the earth, so much so that the earth becomes completely uninhabitable by the sane.
The unwanted administrators, puffed up by false power and military strength, thus become engaged in fighting amongst themselves over ideological conflicts and so exhaust themselves of all powers.
Those who are very materialistic, always hankering after material power and strength, are undoubtedly fools of the first order because they have no information of the living energy, and being ignorant of that supreme spiritual science, they are absorbed in material science, which ends with the end of the material body.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 1.11.34 quotesBG 7.14

In the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) this fact is very vividly described.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Longing → Joy and continuity. Departure and welcome coexist; Parīkṣit embodies continuity of grace.

Chapters 10–12 of Canto 1: Kṛṣṇa returns to Dvārakā; Parīkṣit is born. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 11: Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Entrance into Dvārakā

Dvārakā’s citizens and Kṛṣṇa’s family joyfully welcome Him home.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.11

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

evamthus
nṛpāṇāmof the kings or administrators
kṣiti-bhārathe burden of the earth
janmanāmborn in that way
akṣauhiṇībhiḥempowered by a military strength of horses, elephants, chariots and infantry
parivṛttabeing puffed up by such surroundings
tejasāmprowess
vidhāyahaving created

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

Sthāna · Planetary systems
How is the universe arranged, and what is our right place in it? · Subject 3 of 10
Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership
Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 1.11
In this verse: “kings”, “administrators”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 1.11
In this verse: “illusion”, “material”
Vātsalya · Parental affection
Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 1.11
In this verse: “infantry”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where am I relying on my own power while forgetting the Lord’s ownership?

Practice

Before one task today, pause to acknowledge that your strength belongs to Kṛṣṇa and ask to use it in His service.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 1.11's connections

Live this todaySurrender Frees Us from False PowerThis 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 1.11.34? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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