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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.6.31

Who is speaking and story frame

इदानीं नाश आरब्ध: कुलस्य द्विजशापज: ।

यास्यामि भवनं ब्रह्मन्नेतदन्ते तवानघ ॥ ३१ ॥

idānīṁ nāśa ārabdhaḥ

kulasya dvija-śāpa-jaḥ

yāsyāmi bhavanaṁ brahmann

etad-ante tavānagha

Translation

Now due to the brāhmaṇas’ curse, the annihilation of My family has already begun. O sinless Brahmā, when this annihilation is finished and I am enroute to Vaikuṇṭha, I will pay a small visit to your abode.

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.

The Lord’s Eternal Associates Are Not Destroyed

  1. 1

    The Lord tells Brahmā that His family’s apparent annihilation has begun through the brāhmaṇas’ curse. After it is finished, He will visit Brahmā’s abode on His way to Vaikuṇṭha.

  2. 2

    Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that this “destruction” means the Yadus entered the hidden Dvārakā in the spiritual world.

  3. 3

    The Yadus are eternal servants and associates of the Lord, so they are not destroyed. Only their manifestation to our conditioned vision disappears; eternal Dvārakā remains.

Key points from the purport
  • The members of the Yadu dynasty are eternal servants of the Lord; therefore Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained the word nāśaḥ, or “destruction,” as nigūḍhāyāṁ dvārakāyāṁ praveśanam ity arthaḥ: the members of the Yadu dynasty entered into the hidden or confidential Dvārakā in the spiritual world, which is not manifested here on the earth.
  • In other words, Dvārakā, the Lord’s abode, is manifest on the earth, and when the earthly Dvārakā is apparently removed, the eternal Dvārakā in the spiritual world remains as it is.
  • Only our conditioned vision of their manifestation was destroyed.

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

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 6: The Yadu Dynasty Retires to Prabhāsa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Observing terrible disturbances indicating the imminent destruction of the world, Lord Kṛṣṇa called together the wise members of the Yadu dynasty and reminded them of the brāhmaṇas’ curse. The Lord convinced them to go to Prabhāsa-tīrtha, where they could save themselves by the performance of ritual bathing, charity, and so on.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.6
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. idānīmjust now
  2. nāśaḥthe annihilation
  3. ārabdhaḥhas begun
  4. kulasyaof the dynasty
  5. dvija-śāpa-jaḥdue to the curse of the brāhmaṇas
  6. yāsyāmiI will go
  7. bhavanamto the place of residence
  8. brahmanO Brahmā
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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does knowing that the Yadus are eternal servants change my understanding of their apparent destruction?

Practice

Write one sentence distinguishing the Yadus’ disappearance from our sight from the destruction of their existence.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Eternal Associates Are Not DestroyedThis 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 11.6.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.