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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 5: Frustration of the Sacrifice of Dakṣa
4.5.234.5.25

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.5.24

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Conjecturing on the origin of the storm, theysince 4.5.8inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

दृष्ट्वा संज्ञपनं योगं पशूनां स पतिर्मखे ।

यजमानपशो: कस्य कायात्तेनाहरच्छिर: ॥ २४ ॥

dṛṣṭvā saṁjñapanaṁ yogaṁ

paśūnāṁ sa patir makhe

yajamāna-paśoḥ kasya

kāyāt tenāharac chiraḥ

Translation

Then Vīrabhadra saw the wooden device in the sacrificial arena by which the animals were to have been killed. He took the opportunity of this facility to behead Dakṣa.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Purpose of Sacrificial Animal Offerings

  1. 1

    Vīrabhadra saw the wooden device intended for animal sacrifice and used it to behead Dakṣa, astonishing everyone.

  2. 2

    The purport explains that the device was not meant to facilitate eating animal flesh. The sacrifice was intended to give the animal a new life through the power of Vedic mantra.

  3. 3

    These sacrifices tested whether the brāhmaṇas were uttering the Vedic hymns correctly. Old animals received new bodies in exchange for their old ones and thus were not the losers.

Key points from the purport
  • In this connection it is to be noted that the device used for killing animals in the sacrifice was not designed to facilitate eating their flesh.
  • On the whole, the animals thus sacrificed were not at all the losers.
  • Vīrabhadra, instead of sacrificing animals with the wooden device, immediately beheaded Dakṣa, to the astonishment of everyone.

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

Humiliation and anger → Reconciliation. Relational offense leads to grief and destruction before restoration.

Chapters 1–7 of Canto 4: Dakṣa, Satī and Śiva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 5: Frustration of the Sacrifice of Dakṣa

Lord Śiva’s soldiers destroy Dakṣa’s sacrificial arena, and Vīrabhadra beheads Dakṣa.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dṛṣṭvāhaving seen
  2. saṁjñapanamfor the killing of the animals in the sacrifice
  3. yogamthe device
  4. paśūnāmof the animals
  5. saḥhe (Vīrabhadra)
  6. patiḥthe lord
  7. makhein the sacrifice
  8. yajamāna-paśoḥwho was an animal in the form of the chief of the sacrifice
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the stated purpose of these sacrifices differ from killing animals for their flesh?

Practice

Write down the purport’s distinction between giving an animal a new body through Vedic mantra and killing it for food.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Purpose of Sacrificial Animal OfferingsThis 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.

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