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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
4.10.254.10.27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.10.26

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

अहयोऽशनिनि:श्वासा वमन्तोऽग्निं रुषाक्षिभि: ।

अभ्यधावन् गजा मत्ता: सिंहव्याघ्राश्च यूथश: ॥ २६ ॥

ahayo ’śani-niḥśvāsā

vamanto ’gniṁ ruṣākṣibhiḥ

abhyadhāvan gajā mattāḥ

siṁha-vyāghrāś ca yūthaśaḥ

Translation

Dhruva Mahārāja also saw many big serpents with angry eyes, vomiting forth fire and coming to devour him, along with groups of mad elephants, lions and tigers.

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.

Fierce Creatures Advance Toward Dhruva

  1. 1

    Dhruva Mahārāja saw many large serpents with angry eyes.

  2. 2

    The serpents vomited fire and came forward to devour him.

  3. 3

    Groups of mad elephants, lions and tigers also approached.

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. ahayaḥserpents
  2. aśanithunderbolts
  3. niḥśvāsāḥbreathing
  4. vamantaḥvomiting
  5. agnimfire
  6. ruṣā-akṣibhiḥwith angry eyes
  7. abhyadhāvancame forward
  8. gajāḥelephants
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

Which details show the fierceness of the creatures Dhruva Mahārāja saw?

Practice

Read the verse once and name the four kinds of creatures described.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayFierce Creatures Advance Toward DhruvaThis 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 4.10.26? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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