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

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Canto 11 · General History · 31 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 11 · Chapter 1: The Curse upon the Yadu Dynasty
11.1.211.1.4

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.1.3

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 11.1.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

भूभारराजपृतना यदुभिर्निरस्य

गुप्तै: स्वबाहुभिरचिन्तयदप्रमेय: ।

मन्येऽवनेर्ननु गतोऽप्यगतं हि भारं

यद् यादवं कुलमहो अविषह्यमास्ते ॥ ३ ॥

bhū-bhāra-rāja-pṛtanā yadubhir nirasya

guptaiḥ sva-bāhubhir acintayad aprameyaḥ

manye ’vaner nanu gato ’py agataṁ hi bhāraṁ

yad yādavaṁ kulam aho aviṣahyam āste

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead used the Yadu dynasty, which was protected by His own arms, to eliminate the kings who with their armies had been the burden of this earth. Then the unfathomable Lord thought to Himself, “Although some may say that the earth’s burden is now gone, in My opinion it is not yet gone, because there still remains the Yādava dynasty itself, whose strength is unbearable for the earth.”

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.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Earthly Power Passes; Kṛṣṇa’s Associates Remain

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa saw a remaining burden in His own powerful dynasty. His consideration teaches that family closeness does not excuse indifference to His will.

  2. 2

    Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that the Yadus are eternal associates of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not ordinary irreligious persons. Their apparent indifference was part of the Lord’s arrangement to teach conditioned souls.

  3. 3

    Their sudden loss of earthly possessions and lives shows that no material position is permanent. Their disappearance was not annihilation: they went with the Lord beyond our sight.

Key points from the purport
  • Thus although in the eyes of the world the members of the Lord’s own dynasty are always worshipable, Lord Kṛṣṇa detected that by their intimate association with Him some members of the Yadu dynasty had become indifferent to His will.
  • The members of the Yadu dynasty are eternal associates of the Lord, and therefore they cannot bear to be separated from the Lord.
  • Therefore, Kṛṣṇa arranged the disappearance of the Yadu dynasty prior to His own disappearance.

The purport'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 11.1.3 quotesSB 1.15.33

In the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.15.33), Śrīla Prabhupāda has commented as follows on the disappearance of the Yadu dynasty: “The setting of the sun does not mean the end of the sun.

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

Foreboding → Devotional urgency. Uddhava realizes that Kṛṣṇa's visible association is nearing an end.

Chapters 1–6 of Canto 11: The Yadu curse, the nine Yogendras and farewell signs. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 1: The Curse upon the Yadu Dynasty

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa expertly arranged the great Kurukṣetra battle between the Kurus and the Pāṇḍavas and thus removed to a great extent the earth’s burden. But the Supreme Lord, whose influence is inconceivable, was not yet satisfied, because of the continued presence of the undefeatable Yadu family.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.1
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. bhū-bhāraexisting as the burden of the earth
  2. rājaof the kings
  3. pṛtanāḥthe armies
  4. yadubhiḥby the Yadus
  5. nirasyaeliminating
  6. guptaiḥprotected
  7. sva-bāhubhiḥby His own arms
  8. acintayatHe considered
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 11.1

    In this verse: “kings”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 11.1

    In this verse: “protected”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 11.1

    In this verse: “material”

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

How would remembering the temporary nature of worldly position change what I value today?

Practice

During one ordinary activity today, such as walking or sitting, deliberately remember Kṛṣṇa, following the Yadus’ absorption in Him.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 1.15.33

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 11.1's connections

Live this todayEarthly Power Passes; Kṛṣṇa’s Associates RemainThis 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 11.1.3? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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