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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 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 5 · Chapter 9: The Supreme Character of Jaḍa Bharata
5.9.155.9.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.9.16

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.9.1-2inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अथ वृषलराजपणि: पुरुषपशोरसृगासवेन देवीं भद्रकालीं यक्ष्यमाणस्तदभिमन्त्रितमसिमतिकरालनिशितमुपाददे ॥ १६ ॥

atha vṛṣala-rāja-paṇiḥ puruṣa-paśor asṛg-āsavena devīṁ bhadra-kālīṁ yakṣyamāṇas tad-abhimantritam asim ati-karāla-niśitam upādade.

Translation

At this time, one of the thieves, acting as the chief priest, was ready to offer the blood of Jaḍa Bharata, whom they imagined to be an animal-man, to the goddess Kālī to drink as a liquor. He therefore took up a very fearsome sword, which was very sharp and, consecrating it by the mantra of Bhadra Kālī, raised it to kill Jaḍa Bharata.

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.

A Thief Acting as a Priest

  1. 1

    One of the thieves acted as the chief priest. He intended to offer Jaḍa Bharata’s blood to goddess Kālī as liquor.

  2. 2

    The thieves imagined Jaḍa Bharata to be an animal-man. Their intended sacrifice rested on this mistaken view of him.

  3. 3

    The thief consecrated a sharp, fearsome sword with the mantra of Bhadra Kālī. He then raised it to kill Jaḍa Bharata.

How it feels

Compassion and attachment → Regret and vigilance. Affection becomes binding when it displaces devotion.

Chapters 7–9 of Canto 5: Bharata, the deer and the birth of Jaḍa Bharata. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 9: The Supreme Character of Jaḍa Bharata

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

He was ordered by his stepbrothers and mother to guard a paddy field one night, and at that time the leader of a dacoit party took him away and tried to kill him by offering him as a sacrifice before Bhadra Kālī. When the dacoits brought Bharata Mahārāja before the goddess Kālī and raised a chopper to kill him, the goddess Kālī became immediately alarmed due to the mistreatment of a devotee.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.9
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. athathereafter
  2. vṛṣala-rāja-paṇiḥthe so-called priest of the leader of the dacoits (one of the thieves)
  3. puruṣa-paśoḥof the animalistic man for being sacrificed (Bharata Mahārāja)
  4. asṛk-āsavenawith the liquor of blood
  5. devīmto the deity
  6. bhadra-kālīmthe goddess Kālī
  7. yakṣyamāṇaḥdesiring to offer
  8. tat-abhimantritamconsecrated by the mantra of Bhadra Kālī
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 5.9

    In this verse: “fearsome”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might a mistaken judgment about someone lead me to treat that person wrongly?

Practice

Pause before acting on one negative judgment about another person today.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayA Thief Acting as a PriestThis 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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