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

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Canto 3 · The Status Quo · 33 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 3 · Chapter 14: Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening
3.14.43.14.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.14.5

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 3.14.5inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

मैत्रेय उवाच

साधु वीर त्वया पृष्टमवतारकथां हरे: ।

यत्त्वं पृच्छसि मर्त्यानां मृत्युपाशविशातनीम् ॥ ५ ॥

maitreya uvāca

sādhu vīra tvayā pṛṣṭam

avatāra-kathāṁ hareḥ

yat tvaṁ pṛcchasi martyānāṁ

mṛtyu-pāśa-viśātanīm

Translation

The great sage Maitreya said: O warrior, the inquiry made by you is just befitting a devotee because it concerns the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead. He is the source of liberation from the chain of birth and death for all those who are otherwise destined to die.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hearing the Lord’s Battles Is Devotional Service

  1. 1

    Maitreya praised Vidura’s inquiry because it concerned the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead. Such questions are perfectly befitting a devotee.

  2. 2

    The Lord’s warfare concerns the struggle against the chain of māyā, which obliges one to accept repeated birth and death. Taking delight in hearing these topics relieves one from that chain.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa’s participation in the Battle of Kurukṣetra ensured liberation for those present. Hearing the Lord’s war topics is as good as any other devotional service.

Key points from the purport
  • The great sage Maitreya addressed Vidura as a warrior not only because Vidura belonged to the Kuru family but because he was anxious to hear about the chivalrous activities of the Lord in His incarnations of Varāha and Nṛsiṁha.
  • In other words, one who takes delight in hearing the war topics of the Lord is relieved from the chains of birth and death.
  • Therefore, hearing the war topics of the Lord is as good as any other devotional service.

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

Threat and anger → Rescue and wonder. Divine protection appears amid cosmic confrontation.

Chapters 13–19 of Canto 3: Varāha, Jaya and Vijaya, Hiraṇyākṣa. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 14: Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening

Diti desires sons, her husband performs a forbidden act, and their sons’ destruction by the Lord is foretold.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.14
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. maitreyaḥ uvācaMaitreya said
  2. sādhudevotee
  3. vīraO warrior
  4. tvayāby you
  5. pṛṣṭaminquired
  6. avatāra-kathāmtopics on the incarnation of the Lord
  7. hareḥof the Personality of Godhead
  8. yatthat which
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “devotee”, “devotional service”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “death”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “inquiry”

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 does knowing the spiritual purpose of the Lord’s battles change my interest in hearing them?

Practice

Spend a few minutes reading this purport attentively as devotional service.

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.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 3.14's connections

Live this todayHearing the Lord’s Battles Is Devotional ServiceThis 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 3.14.5? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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