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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
3.18.33.18.5

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.18.4

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The demonsince 3.18.3inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

त्वं न: सपत्नैरभवाय किं भृतो

यो मायया हन्त्यसुरान् परोक्षजित् ।

त्वां योगमायाबलमल्पपौरुषं

संस्थाप्य मूढ प्रमृजे सुहृच्छुच: ॥ ४ ॥

tvaṁ naḥ sapatnair abhavāya kiṁ bhṛto

yo māyayā hanty asurān parokṣa-jit

tvāṁ yoga-māyā-balam alpa-pauruṣaṁ

saṁsthāpya mūḍha pramṛje suhṛc-chucaḥ

Translation

You rascal, You have been nourished by our enemies to kill us, and You have killed some demons by remaining invisible. O fool, Your power is only mystic, so today I shall enliven my kinsmen by killing You.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Potency Ends Material Misery

  1. 1

    Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that the word meaning “killing” can indicate liberation: ending the process of repeated birth and death.

  2. 2

    The Lord’s internal potency, yoga-māyā, is inconceivable. By even a slight exhibition of it, He can graciously deliver one from ignorance and extinguish material miseries.

  3. 3

    Demons mistakenly think material strength and weapons can kill God. Through His many potencies, the Lord can be present everywhere while remaining in Goloka Vṛndāvana.

Key points from the purport
  • When demons are in adversity, they think that God is hiding Himself and is working by His mystic potency.
  • I shall kill You and save my kinsmen from Your mystic misdeeds.”
  • Not only are demons always anxious to kill God with words and philosophy, but they think that if one is materially powerful he can kill God with materially fatal weapons.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tvamYou
  2. naḥus
  3. sapatnaiḥby our enemies
  4. abhavāyafor killing
  5. kimis it that
  6. bhṛtaḥmaintained
  7. yaḥHe who
  8. māyayāby deception
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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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

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

    In this verse: “death”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.18

    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

Do I place more confidence in material power than in the Lord’s grace?

Practice

Take a quiet moment to ask the Lord for His grace to overcome ignorance.

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 3.18's connections

Live this todayThe Lord’s Potency Ends Material MiseryThis 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 3.18.4? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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