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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.
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Canto 3 · Chapter 16: The Two Doorkeepers of Vaikuṇṭha, Jaya and Vijaya, Cursed by the Sages
3.16.253.16.27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.16.26

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Lordsince 3.16.26inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Brahmā → the demigods

श्रीभगवानुवाच

एतौ सुरेतरगतिं प्रतिपद्य सद्य:

संरम्भसम्भृतसमाध्यनुबद्धयोगौ ।

भूय: सकाशमुपयास्यत आशु यो व:

शापो मयैव निमितस्तदवेत विप्रा: ॥ २६ ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

etau suretara-gatiṁ pratipadya sadyaḥ

saṁrambha-sambhṛta-samādhy-anubaddha-yogau

bhūyaḥ sakāśam upayāsyata āśu yo vaḥ

śāpo mayaiva nimitas tad aveta viprāḥ

Translation

The Lord replied: O brāhmaṇas, know that the punishment you inflicted on them was originally ordained by Me, and therefore they will fall to a birth in a demoniac family. But they will be firmly united with Me in thought through mental concentration intensified by anger, and they will return to My presence shortly.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Associates Serve His Plan

  1. 1

    The Lord explained that the curse upon Jaya and Vijaya was ordained by Him. Nothing can happen without His sanction.

  2. 2

    There are no enemies in Vaikuṇṭha, where everyone fully serves the Lord. To manifest His fighting pastimes, He selected His own associates to play the part of enemies in the material world.

  3. 3

    Their apparent enmity was temporary, like a role on a stage, and they would soon return to Him. The purport concludes that no one falls from Vaikuṇṭha, the eternal abode.

Key points from the purport
  • The nondevotees are found in the material world, not in the spiritual world; therefore, when the Lord wants to fight, He has to come to this world.
  • Thus Jaya and Vijaya were selected by the Lord to fight with Him in the material world, and that was the reason the sages came to see Him and accidentally the doorkeepers were cursed.
  • But sometimes, as the Lord desires, devotees come into this material world as preachers or as atheists.

Śrīla Prabhupāda'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 3.16.26 quotesBG 4.8

In Bhagavad-gītā (4.8) also it is said that the Lord appears just to give protection to the devotees and to annihilate the nondevotees.

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

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 16: The Two Doorkeepers of Vaikuṇṭha, Jaya and Vijaya, Cursed by the Sages

The Lord honors the sages and assures His fallen doorkeepers that they will soon return.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-bhagavān uvācathe Supreme Personality of Godhead replied
  2. etauthese two doorkeepers
  3. sura-itarademoniac
  4. gatimthe womb
  5. pratipadyaobtaining
  6. sadyaḥquickly
  7. saṁrambhaby anger
  8. sambhṛtaintensified
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.16

    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 does knowing that Jaya and Vijaya remained the Lord’s associates change my understanding of their departure?

Practice

Spend one minute remembering the Lord and offering your wish to serve Him.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Associates Serve His PlanThis 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.

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