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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.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.9.18

Who is speaking and story frame

भृशममर्षरोषावेशरभसविलसितभ्रुकुटिविटपकुटिलदंष्ट्रारुणेक्षणाटोपातिभयानकवदना हन्तुकामेवेदं महाट्टहासमतिसंरम्भेण विमुञ्चन्ती तत उत्पत्य पापीयसां दुष्टानां तेनैवासिना विवृक्णशीर्ष्णां गलात्स्रवन्तमसृगासवमत्युष्णं सह गणेन निपीयातिपानमदविह्वलोच्चैस्तरां स्वपार्षदै: सह जगौ ननर्त च विजहार च शिर:कन्दुकलीलया ॥ १८ ॥

bhṛśam amarṣa-roṣāveśa-rabhasa-vilasita-bhru-kuṭi-viṭapa-kuṭila-daṁṣṭrāruṇekṣaṇāṭopāti-bhayānaka-vadanā hantu-kāmevedaṁ mahāṭṭa-hāsam ati-saṁrambheṇa vimuñcantī tata utpatya pāpīyasāṁ duṣṭānāṁ tenaivāsinā vivṛkṇa-śīrṣṇāṁ galāt sravantam asṛg-āsavam atyuṣṇaṁ saha gaṇena nipīyāti-pāna-mada-vihvaloccaistarāṁ sva-pārṣadaiḥ saha jagau nanarta ca vijahāra ca śiraḥ-kanduka-līlayā.

Translation

Intolerant of the offenses committed, the infuriated Goddess Kālī flashed her eyes and displayed her fierce, curved teeth. Her reddish eyes glowed, and she displayed her fearsome features. She assumed a frightening body, as if she were prepared to destroy the entire creation. Leaping violently from the altar, she immediately decapitated all the rogues and thieves with the very sword with which they had intended to kill Jaḍa Bharata. She then began to drink the hot blood that flowed from the necks of the beheaded rogues and thieves, as if this blood were liquor. Indeed, she drank this intoxicant with her associates, who were witches and female demons. Becoming intoxicated with this blood, they all began to sing very loudly and dance as though prepared to annihilate the entire universe. At the same time, they began to play with the heads of the rogues and thieves, tossing them about as if they were balls.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Worship Does Not Excuse Sin

  1. 1

    Goddess Kālī punished the thieves with the very sword they had intended to use against Jaḍa Bharata. Their offerings did not secure her favor.

  2. 2

    The purport explains that punishing demons is part of goddess Kālī’s work. Those who worship her for material benefit are not excused from sins committed in the name of worship.

  3. 3

    Śrīla Prabhupāda warns against neglecting Kṛṣṇa consciousness while offering abominable things to the goddess. He specifically forbids sacrificing a man or animal before the deity.

Key points from the purport
  • It is evident from this verse that the devotees of Goddess Kālī are not at all favored by her.
  • Goddess Kālī (Durgā) engages in decapitating many demons, dacoits and other unwanted elements in society.
  • Demoniac people worship Goddess Kālī to obtain some material benefit, but they are not excused of the sins performed in the name of worship.

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

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:

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. She came out of the deity and, taking the chopper in her own hands, killed all the dacoits there.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.9
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. bhṛśamvery highly
  2. amarṣain intolerance of the offenses
  3. roṣain anger
  4. āveśaof her absorption
  5. rabhasa-vilasitaexpanded by the force
  6. bhru-kuṭiof her eyebrows
  7. viṭapathe branches
  8. kuṭilacurved
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

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

    In this verse: “fearsome”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 5.9

    In this verse: “offenses”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.9

    In this verse: “material”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I ever use religious activity to excuse conduct that needs to change?

Practice

Set aside one request for material benefit today and instead express your wish to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayWorship Does Not Excuse SinThis 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 5.9.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.