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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

4.10.18-19 4.10.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.10.20

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

हतावशिष्टा इतरे रणाजिराद्

रक्षोगणा: क्षत्रियवर्यसायकै: ।

प्रायो विवृक्णावयवा विदुद्रुवु-

र्मृगेन्द्रविक्रीडितयूथपा इव ॥ २० ॥

hatāvaśiṣṭā itare raṇājirād

rakṣo-gaṇāḥ kṣatriya-varya-sāyakaiḥ

prāyo vivṛkṇāvayavā vidudruvur

mṛgendra-vikrīḍita-yūthapā iva

Translation

The remaining Yakṣas who somehow or other were not killed had their limbs cut to pieces by the arrows of the great warrior Dhruva Mahārāja. Thus they began to flee, just as elephants flee when defeated by a lion.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Remaining Yakṣas Flee

1
Some Yakṣas survived the attack of Dhruva Mahārāja, the great warrior.
2
Their limbs had been cut to pieces by his arrows, and they began fleeing the battlefield.
3
Their flight is compared to elephants fleeing after being defeated by a lion.

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

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

hata-avaśiṣṭāḥthe remaining soldiers who were not killed
itareothers
raṇa-ajirātfrom the battlefield
rakṣaḥ-gaṇāḥthe Yakṣas
kṣatriya-varyaof the greatest of the kṣatriyas, or warriors
sāyakaiḥby the arrows
prāyaḥmostly
vivṛkṇacut to pieces

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.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does the lion-and-elephants comparison emphasize about Dhruva Mahārāja in this battle?

Practice

Reread the verse and briefly describe how the animal comparison illustrates the Yakṣas’ retreat.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Remaining Yakṣas FleeThis 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 4.10.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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