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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.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 4 · Chapter 10: Dhruva Mahārāja’s Fight with the Yakṣas
4.10.174.10.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 4.10.18-19

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.10.18-19inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

भल्लै: सञ्छिद्यमानानां शिरोभिश्चारुकुण्डलै: ।

ऊरुभिर्हेमतालाभैर्दोर्भिर्वलयवल्गुभि: ॥ १८ ॥

हारकेयूरमुकुटैरुष्णीषैश्च महाधनै: ।

आस्तृतास्ता रणभुवो रेजुर्वीरमनोहरा: ॥ १९ ॥

bhallaiḥ sañchidyamānānāṁ

śirobhiś cāru-kuṇḍalaiḥ

ūrubhir hema-tālābhair

dorbhir valaya-valgubhiḥ

hāra-keyūra-mukuṭair

uṣṇīṣaiś ca mahā-dhanaiḥ

āstṛtās tā raṇa-bhuvo

rejur vīra-mano-harāḥ

Translation

The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, the heads of those who were cut to pieces by the arrows of Dhruva Mahārāja were decorated very beautifully with earrings and turbans. The legs of their bodies were as beautiful as golden palm trees, their arms were decorated with golden bracelets and armlets, and on their heads there were very valuable helmets bedecked with gold. All these ornaments lying on that battlefield were very attractive and could bewilder the mind of a hero.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Battlefield Ornaments Could Bewilder Heroes

  1. 1

    Maitreya describes to Vidura the richly adorned bodies of those struck by Dhruva Mahārāja’s arrows. Their ornaments included earrings, bracelets, armlets, turbans and gold-bedecked helmets.

  2. 2

    The purport explains that soldiers in those days went into battle highly decorated. When they died, the enemy party took their ornaments as booty.

  3. 3

    The ornaments scattered across the battlefield were attractive enough to bewilder a hero’s mind. They offered the surviving warriors a lucrative opportunity.

Key points from the purport
  • It appears that in those days soldiers used to go to the battlefield highly decorated with golden ornaments and with helmets and turbans, and when they were dead the booty was taken by the enemy party.
  • Their falling dead in battle with their many golden ornamental dresses was certainly a lucrative opportunity for the heroes on the battlefield.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. bhallaiḥby his arrows
  2. sañchidyamānānāmof the Yakṣas who were cut to pieces
  3. śirobhiḥwith heads
  4. cārubeautiful
  5. kuṇḍalaiḥwith earrings
  6. ūrubhiḥwith thighs
  7. hema-tālābhaiḥlike golden palm trees
  8. dorbhiḥwith arms
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

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 the attraction of these ornaments show about the power of valuable possessions to capture attention?

Practice

Notice one attractive possession today and pause to observe how strongly it draws your attention.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayBattlefield Ornaments Could Bewilder HeroesThis 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 4.10.18-19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.