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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 4 · The Creation of the Fourth Order · 31 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 4 · Chapter 10: Dhruva Mahārāja’s Fight with the Yakṣas
4.10.134.10.15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.10.14

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.10.6inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

हाहाकारस्तदैवासीत्सिद्धानां दिवि पश्यताम् ।

हतोऽयं मानव: सूर्यो मग्न: पुण्यजनार्णवे ॥ १४ ॥

hāhā-kāras tadaivāsīt

siddhānāṁ divi paśyatām

hato ’yaṁ mānavaḥ sūryo

magnaḥ puṇya-janārṇave

Translation

All the Siddhas from the higher planetary systems were observing the fight from the sky, and when they saw that Dhruva Mahārāja had been covered by the incessant arrows of the enemy, they roared tumultuously, “The grandson of Manu, Dhruva, is now lost!” They cried that Dhruva Mahārāja was just like the sun and that now he had set within the ocean of the Yakṣas.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

A Devotee’s Reversal Is Not Defeat

  1. 1

    All human society descends from Manu, the lawgiver in Vedic civilization. Dhruva Mahārāja is a distinguished mānava because he is a great devotee.

  2. 2

    The Supreme Lord protects His devotee. The demigods and even ordinary people are also anxious for the devotee’s security and safety.

  3. 3

    The Siddhas feared that Dhruva Mahārāja was lost, like the sun sinking into an ocean. Yet the sun does not actually drown, and a reversal in battle did not mean Dhruva was defeated.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore everyone in human society is a mānava, or descendant from Manu, but Dhruva Mahārāja is a distinguished mānava because he is a great devotee.
  • The comparison given here that Dhruva Mahārāja appeared to merge in the ocean of the Yakṣas is also significant.
  • Similarly, although Dhruva appeared to drown in the ocean of the Yakṣas, he had no difficulty.

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

Rejection → Transformed aspiration. A child's wounded pride is purified by divine encounter.

Chapters 8–12 of Canto 4: Dhruva seeks and encounters the Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 10: Dhruva Mahārāja’s Fight with the Yakṣas

After Uttama is killed by a Yakṣa, Dhruva fights the Yakṣas and faces their illusions.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.10
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. hāhā-kāraḥtumult of disappointment
  2. tadāat that time
  3. evacertainly
  4. āsītbecame manifest
  5. siddhānāmof all the residents of Siddhaloka
  6. diviin the sky
  7. paśyatāmwho were observing the fight
  8. hataḥkilled
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

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 4.10

    In this verse: “protects”, “safety”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 4.10

    In this verse: “cried”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.10

    In this verse: “devotee”

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 Dhruva Mahārāja’s distinction as a great devotee teach you to value?

Practice

Take a moment today to express concern for a devotee’s well-being.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayA Devotee’s Reversal Is Not DefeatThis 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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