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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 19: The Killing of the Demon Hiraṇyākṣa
3.19.53.19.7

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.19.6

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 3.19.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

तं व्यग्रचक्रं दितिपुत्राधमेन

स्वपार्षदमुख्येन विषज्जमानम् ।

चित्रा वाचोऽतद्विदां खेचराणां

तत्र स्मासन् स्वस्ति तेऽमुं जहीति ॥ ६ ॥

taṁ vyagra-cakraṁ diti-putrādhamena

sva-pārṣada-mukhyena viṣajjamānam

citrā vāco ’tad-vidāṁ khe-carāṇāṁ

tatra smāsan svasti te ’muṁ jahīti

Translation

As the discus began to revolve in the Lord’s hands and the Lord contended at close quarters with the chief of His Vaikuṇṭha attendants, who had been born as Hiraṇyākṣa, a vile son of Diti, there issued from every direction strange expressions uttered by those who were witnessing from airplanes. They had no knowledge of the Lord’s reality, and they cried, “May victory attend You! Pray dispatch him. Play no more with him.”

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Witnesses Do Not Know the Lord’s Reality

  1. 1

    The discus revolved in the Lord’s hands as He contended at close quarters with Hiraṇyākṣa.

  2. 2

    Hiraṇyākṣa, described as a vile son of Diti, was the chief of the Lord’s Vaikuṇṭha attendants who had taken this birth.

  3. 3

    Witnesses in airplanes did not know the Lord’s reality. They called for His victory and urged Him to dispatch the demon rather than continue playing with him.

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 19: The Killing of the Demon Hiraṇyākṣa

Lord Varāha defeats Hiraṇyākṣa and returns to His abode amid the demigods’ praises.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.19
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tamunto the Personality of Godhead
  2. vyagrarevolving
  3. cakramwhose discus
  4. diti-putrason of Diti
  5. adhamenavile
  6. sva-pārṣadaof His associates
  7. mukhyenawith the chief
  8. viṣajjamānamplaying
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

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 3.19

    In this verse: “cried”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.19

    In this verse: “knowledge”

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 the witnesses’ limited understanding encourage humility in my own reading?

Practice

Reread the verse and identify one fact about the Lord’s opponent that outward appearances did not reveal.

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 3.19's connections

Live this todayWitnesses Do Not Know the Lord’s RealityThis 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 3.19.6? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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