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

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Canto 2 · The Cosmic Manifestation · 10 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 2 · Chapter 7: Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions
2.7.212.7.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.7.22

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 2.7.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Brahmā → Nārada Muni

क्षत्रं क्षयाय विधिनोपभृतं महात्मा

ब्रह्मध्रुगुज्झितपथं नरकार्तिलिप्सु ।

उद्धन्त्यसाववनिकण्टकमुग्रवीर्य-

स्त्रि:सप्तकृत्व उरुधारपरश्वधेन ॥ २२ ॥

kṣatraṁ kṣayāya vidhinopabhṛtaṁ mahātmā

brahma-dhrug ujjhita-pathaṁ narakārti-lipsu

uddhanty asāv avanikaṇṭakam ugra-vīryas

triḥ-sapta-kṛtva urudhāra-paraśvadhena

Translation

When the ruling administrators, who are known as the kṣatriyas, turned astray from the path of the Absolute Truth, being desirous to suffer in hell, the Lord, in His incarnation as the sage Paraśurāma, uprooted those unwanted kings, who appeared as the thorns of the earth. Thus He thrice seven times uprooted the kṣatriyas with His keenly sharpened chopper.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Leadership Must Guide Toward God Realization

  1. 1

    Ruling administrators are meant to represent the Almighty Personality of Godhead. Whatever the form of government, their prime responsibility is to lead citizens toward God realization.

  2. 2

    The father, spiritual master, and state share responsibility for guiding others toward this goal. Material creation gives fallen souls a chance to return to the will of the Supreme Father.

  3. 3

    When rulers abandoned the path of the Absolute Truth, Lord Paraśurāma chastised them twenty-one times. His appearance shows that rulers are accountable to the Almighty for fostering a godless civilization.

Key points from the purport
  • The kṣatriyas, or the ruling administrators of any part of the universe, either on this planet or on other planets, are factually the representatives of the Almighty Personality of Godhead, and they are meant to lead the subjects towards the path of God realization.
  • Every state and its administrators, regardless of the nature of the administration — monarchy or democracy, oligarchy or dictatorship or autocracy — have the prime responsibility to lead the citizens toward God realization.
  • Lord Paraśurāma, the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead, appeared in such a state of worldly affairs and killed all the miscreant kings twenty-one times.

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

Uncertainty → Awe. The scale of reality widens dramatically.

Chapters 4–7 of Canto 2: The creation, cosmic Person and incarnations. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 7: Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions

Brahmā recounts the Lord’s incarnations and explains that unalloyed surrender enables one to understand Him.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.7
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kṣatramthe royal order
  2. kṣayāyafor the sake of diminishing
  3. vidhināby destination
  4. upabhṛtamincreased in proportion
  5. mahātmāthe Lord in the form of the great sage Paraśurāma
  6. brahma-dhrukthe ultimate truth in Brahman
  7. ujjhita-pathamthose who have given up the path of the Absolute Truth
  8. naraka-ārti-lipsudesirous to suffer pain in hell
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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 2.7

    In this verse: “kings”, “administrators”, “rulers”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 2.7

    In this verse: “absolute truth”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 2.7

    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 can I use any responsibility I have to support God realization rather than neglect it?

Practice

Write down one way a responsibility you hold can help you or someone in your care move toward God realization.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

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

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 2.7's connections

Live this todayLeadership Must Guide Toward God RealizationThis 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 2.7.22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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