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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
3.14.503.15.1

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.14.51

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 3.14.51inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

मैत्रेय उवाच

श्रुत्वा भागवतं पौत्रममोदत दितिर्भृशम् ।

पुत्रयोश्च वधं कृष्णाद्विदित्वासीन्महामना: ॥ ५१ ॥

maitreya uvāca

śrutvā bhāgavataṁ pautram

amodata ditir bhṛśam

putrayoś ca vadhaṁ kṛṣṇād

viditvāsīn mahā-manāḥ

Translation

The sage Maitreya said: Hearing that her grandson would be a great devotee and that her sons would be killed by Kṛṣṇa, Diti was highly pleased in mind.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Diti Finds Joy in Divine Mercy

  1. 1

    Diti had been distressed that her sons would become demons and fight with the Lord. Hearing that her grandson would be a great devotee and her sons would be killed by Kṛṣṇa pleased her beyond her expectations.

  2. 2

    She understood that being killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is great fortune. A demon killed by Him attains the result of liberation otherwise reached after many births of penance and austerity.

  3. 3

    Because the Lord is absolute, His acts of violence and nonviolence are on the same absolute platform. They must not be equated with mundane violence and nonviolence.

Key points from the purport
  • Diti was very aggrieved to learn that because of her untimely pregnancy her sons would be demons and would fight with the Lord.
  • But when she heard that her grandson would be a great devotee and that her two sons would be killed by the Lord, she was very satisfied.
  • As the wife of a great sage and the daughter of a great Prajāpati, Dakṣa, she knew that being killed by the Personality of Godhead is a great fortune.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. maitreyaḥ uvācathe sage Maitreya said
  2. śrutvāby hearing
  3. bhāgavatamto be a great devotee of the Lord
  4. pautramgrandson
  5. amodatatook pleasure
  6. ditiḥDiti
  7. bhṛśamvery greatly
  8. putrayoḥof two sons
3

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”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “hearing”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “distressed”

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

What does Diti’s joy reveal about the value of devotion and the Lord’s mercy?

Practice

Take one minute today to appreciate the blessing of devotional service rather than a temporary material gain.

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 todayDiti Finds Joy in Divine MercyThis 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 3.14.51? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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