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

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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 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 10 · Chapter 44: The Killing of Kaṁsa

10.44.2 10.44.4

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.44.3

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.44.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अरत्नी द्वे अरत्निभ्यां जानुभ्यां चैव जानुनी । शिर: शीर्ष्णोरसोरस्तावन्योन्यमभिजघ्नतु: ॥ ३ ॥

aratnī dve aratnibhyāṁ

jānubhyāṁ caiva jānunī

śiraḥ śīrṣṇorasoras tāv

anyonyam abhijaghnatuḥ

Translation

They each struck fists against fists, knees against knees, head against head and chest against chest.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Exchange of Powerful Blows

1
The opponents struck fists against fists and knees against knees.
2
They also struck head against head and chest against chest.
3
The purport explains that aratni may mean elbow as well as fist. Thus elbow blows were perhaps also used, as in various martial arts today.

Key points from the purport

The word aratni in this verse may indicate the elbow as well as the fist.
Thus blows were perhaps also struck with the elbow, a technique seen today in various martial arts.

The purport'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

Anxiety and conflict → Liberation and joy. Heroic victory is complicated by separation from Vraja.

Chapters 39–45 of Canto 10: Mathurā, Kaṁsa and reunion with parents. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 44: The Killing of Kaṁsa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Battling arm to arm, head to head, knee to knee and chest to chest, the opponents attacked each other so fiercely that they appeared to be harming even their own bodies.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.44