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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 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 3: Kṛṣṇa Is the Source of All Incarnations
1.3.191.3.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.3.20

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 1.3.1inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

अवतारे षोडशमे पश्यन् ब्रह्मद्रुहो नृपान् ।

त्रि:सप्तकृत्व: कुपितो नि:क्षत्रामकरोन्महीम् ॥ २० ॥

avatāre ṣoḍaśame

paśyan brahma-druho nṛpān

triḥ-sapta-kṛtvaḥ kupito

niḥ-kṣatrām akaron mahīm

Translation

In the sixteenth incarnation of the Godhead, the Lord [as Bhṛgupati] annihilated the administrative class [kṣatriyas] twenty-one times, being angry with them because of their rebellion against the brāhmaṇas [the intelligent class].

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Rulers Must Follow Revealed Guidance

  1. 1

    As Bhṛgupati, the Lord annihilated the kṣatriyas twenty-one times because of their rebellion against the brāhmaṇas.

  2. 2

    The administrative class is expected to rule under the direction of learned brāhmaṇas. Their guidance is based on the śāstras, the books of revealed knowledge.

  3. 3

    The purport explains that disobedient administrators are removed by force from their posts. Arrangement is then made for better administration.

Key points from the purport
  • The kṣatriyas, or the administrative class of men, are expected to rule the planet by the direction of the intelligent class of men, who give direction to the rulers in terms of the standard śāstras, or the books of revealed knowledge.
  • The rulers carry on the administration according to that direction.
  • Whenever there is disobedience on the part of the kṣatriyas, or the administrative class, against the orders of the learned and intelligent brāhmaṇas, the administrators are removed by force from the posts, and arrangement is made for better administration.

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

How it feels

Concern → Purpose. A spiritually urgent question emerges for the age of Kali.

Chapters 1–3 of Canto 1: The sages ask the ultimate questions. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 3: Kṛṣṇa Is the Source of All Incarnations

Sūta describes the Lord’s incarnations and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as His literary incarnation.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.3
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. avatārein the incarnation of the Lord
  2. ṣoḍaśamethe sixteenth
  3. paśyanseeing
  4. brahma-druhaḥdisobedient to the orders of the brāhmaṇas
  5. nṛpānthe kingly order
  6. triḥ-saptathrice seven times
  7. kṛtvaḥhad done
  8. kupitaḥbeing engaged
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “administrative”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 1.3

    In this verse: “knowledge”

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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

When I have responsibility, am I willing to accept guidance rather than act only on my own wishes?

Practice

Before making one decision today, pause and consider a relevant teaching from revealed knowledge.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Live this todayRulers Must Follow Revealed GuidanceThis 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 1.3.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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