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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 19: King Pṛthu’s One Hundred Horse Sacrifices
4.19.264.19.28

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.19.27

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.19.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

तमृत्विज: शक्रवधाभिसन्धितंविचक्ष्य दुष्प्रेक्ष्यमसह्यरंहसम् । निवारयामासुरहो महामतेन युज्यतेऽत्रान्यवध: प्रचोदितात् ॥ २७ ॥

tam ṛtvijaḥ śakra-vadhābhisandhitaṁ

vicakṣya duṣprekṣyam asahya-raṁhasam

nivārayām āsur aho mahā-mate

na yujyate ’trānya-vadhaḥ pracoditāt

Translation

When the priests and all the others saw Mahārāja Pṛthu very angry and prepared to kill Indra, they requested him: O great soul, do not kill him, for only sacrificial animals can be killed in a sacrifice. Such are the directions given by śāstra.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Let Scripture Restrain Anger

  1. 1

    Seeing Pṛthu ready to kill Indra, the priests asked him to stop. They appealed to the directions of śāstra rather than his anger.

  2. 2

    The purport explains that sacrificial animal killing tested the proper pronunciation of Vedic mantras. The animal was meant to emerge from the fire with a new life.

  3. 3

    A sacrifice meant to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu was not a place to kill Indra. Indra was himself worshiped in the yajña and accepted as part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • No one should ever be killed in a sacrifice meant for the satisfaction of Lord Viṣṇu.
  • How then could Indra be killed when he is actually worshiped in the yajña and accepted as part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
  • Therefore the priests requested King Pṛthu not to kill him.

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

Anger and disorder → Duty and devotion. Kingship shifts from domination to stewardship and renunciation.

Chapters 13–23 of Canto 4: Vena and Pṛthu: power, the Earth and stewardship. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 19: King Pṛthu’s One Hundred Horse Sacrifices

Indra repeatedly takes the sacrificial horse, and Brahmā restrains Pṛthu’s anger.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.19
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tamKing Pṛthu
  2. ṛtvijaḥthe priests
  3. śakra-vadhakilling the King of heaven
  4. abhisandhitamthus preparing himself
  5. vicakṣyahaving observed
  6. duṣprekṣyamterrible to look at
  7. asahyaunbearable
  8. raṁhasamwhose velocity
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.19

    In this verse: “worshiped”

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

When I am angry, am I willing to accept correction grounded in scripture?

Practice

If anger arises today, pause before acting and reread the priests’ request for restraint.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayLet Scripture Restrain AngerThis 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 4.19.27? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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