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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
4.10.164.10.18-19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.10.17

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

तस्य ते चापनिर्मुक्ता भित्त्वा वर्माणि रक्षसाम् ।

कायानाविविशुस्तिग्मा गिरीनशनयो यथा ॥ १७ ॥

tasya te cāpa-nirmuktā

bhittvā varmāṇi rakṣasām

kāyān āviviśus tigmā

girīn aśanayo yathā

Translation

The sharp arrows released from the bow of Dhruva Mahārāja pierced the shields and bodies of the enemy, like the thunderbolts released by the King of heaven, which dismantle the bodies of the mountains.

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.

The Force of Dhruva’s Arrows

  1. 1

    Dhruva Mahārāja released sharp arrows from his bow.

  2. 2

    Those arrows pierced the enemy’s shields and entered their bodies. The shields could not stop them.

  3. 3

    Their force is compared to thunderbolts released by the King of heaven, which dismantle the bodies of mountains.

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. tasyaof Dhruva
  2. tethose arrows
  3. cāpafrom the bow
  4. nirmuktāḥreleased
  5. bhittvāhaving pierced
  6. varmāṇishields
  7. rakṣasāmof the demons
  8. kāyānbodies
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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.10

    In this verse: “king”

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 thunderbolt comparison deepen your sense of the battle’s intensity?

Practice

Write one sentence describing what the thunderbolt comparison emphasizes.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Force of Dhruva’s ArrowsThis 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 4.10.17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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