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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
  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 7: The Son of Droṇa Punished
1.7.291.7.31

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.7.30

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 1.7.29inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

संहत्यान्योन्यमुभयोस्तेजसी शरसंवृते ।

आवृत्य रोदसी खं च ववृधातेऽर्कवह्निवत् ॥ ३० ॥

saṁhatyānyonyam ubhayos

tejasī śara-saṁvṛte

āvṛtya rodasī khaṁ ca

vavṛdhāte ’rka-vahnivat

Translation

When the rays of the two brahmāstras combined, a great circle of fire, like the disc of the sun, covered all outer space and the whole firmament of planets.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Vast Destructive Power of the Brahmāstra

  1. 1

    The rays of the two brahmāstras combined into a great circle of fire, like the disc of the sun.

  2. 2

    That fire covered outer space and the whole firmament of planets. The purport compares its heat to the fire of cosmic annihilation.

  3. 3

    The purport describes atomic radiation as insignificant beside the heat of a brahmāstra. Its destructive reach could extend to the whole cosmic situation.

Key points from the purport
  • The heat created by the flash of a brahmāstra resembles the fire exhibited in the sun globe at the time of cosmic annihilation.
  • The atomic bomb explosion can at utmost blow up one globe, but the heat produced by the brahmāstra can destroy the whole cosmic situation.
  • The comparison is therefore made to the heat at the time of annihilation.

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

Grief → Trust. Violence and bereavement make Kṛṣṇa's protective presence precious.

Chapters 7–9 of Canto 1: Postwar anguish, Kuntī and Bhīṣma. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 7: The Son of Droṇa Punished

Vyāsadeva compiles Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; Arjuna captures Aśvatthāmā, and Kṛṣṇa addresses the question of his punishment.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.7
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saṁhatyaby combination of
  2. anyonyamone another
  3. ubhayoḥof both
  4. tejasīthe glares
  5. śaraweapons
  6. saṁvṛtecovering
  7. āvṛtyacovering
  8. rodasīthe complete firmament
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

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

What does this description help me notice about the far-reaching consequences of destructive power?

Practice

Read the translation slowly once, noting how far the effects of the weapons spread.

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 todayThe Vast Destructive Power of the BrahmāstraThis 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.

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