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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 18: The Battle Between Lord Boar and the Demon Hiraṇyākṣa
3.18.93.18.11

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.18.10

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Personality of Godheadsince 3.18.10inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

श्रीभगवानुवाच

सत्यं वयं भो वनगोचरा मृगा

युष्मद्विधान्मृगये ग्रामसिंहान् ।

न मृत्युपाशै: प्रतिमुक्तस्य वीरा

विकत्थनं तव गृह्णन्त्यभद्र ॥ १० ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

satyaṁ vayaṁ bho vana-gocarā mṛgā

yuṣmad-vidhān mṛgaye grāma-siṁhān

na mṛtyu-pāśaiḥ pratimuktasya vīrā

vikatthanaṁ tava gṛhṇanty abhadra

Translation

The Personality of Godhead said: Indeed, We are creatures of the jungle, and We are searching after hunting dogs like you. One who is freed from the entanglement of death has no fear from the loose talk in which you are indulging, for you are bound up by the laws of death.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Understand the Lord to Transcend Death

  1. 1

    The Lord was not frightened by the demon’s boasting. The demon himself remained bound by the laws of death.

  2. 2

    Insulting the Supreme Lord or defying nature’s laws cannot free anyone from birth and death. Those who reject Him overlook their own subjection to these laws.

  3. 3

    Understanding the transcendental nature of God enables one to go back home, back to Godhead. Refusing to understand Him leaves one entangled in birth and death.

Key points from the purport
  • Demons and atheistic persons can go on insulting the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they forget that they are subjected to the laws of birth and death.
  • They think that simply by decrying the existence of the Supreme Lord or defying His stringent laws of nature, one can be freed from the clutches of birth and death.
  • But demons and atheistic persons do not try to understand the nature of the Supreme Lord; therefore they remain in the entanglement of birth and death.

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 18: The Battle Between Lord Boar and the Demon Hiraṇyākṣa

Hiraṇyākṣa challenges Lord Varāha, who protects the earth and fights him as Brahmā prays for victory.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.18
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-bhagavān uvācathe Supreme Personality of Godhead said
  2. satyamindeed
  3. vayamWe
  4. bhoḥO
  5. vana-gocarāḥdwelling in the forest
  6. mṛgāḥcreatures
  7. yuṣmat-vidhānlike you
  8. mṛgayeI am searching to kill
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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 3.18

    In this verse: “fear”, “death”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.18

    In this verse: “understanding”

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

Am I making a sincere effort to understand the Lord’s transcendental nature?

Practice

Reread this purport and write one sentence about why defying God cannot free a person from death.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayUnderstand the Lord to Transcend DeathThis 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 3.18.10? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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