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Canto 6 · Prescribed Duties for Mankind · 19 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 6.9.19

Who is speaking and story frame

तं निजघ्नुरभिद्रुत्य सगणा विबुधर्षभा: ।

स्वै: स्वैर्दिव्यास्त्रशस्त्रौघै: सोऽग्रसत्तानि कृत्‍स्‍नश: ॥ १९ ॥

taṁ nijaghnur abhidrutya

sagaṇā vibudharṣabhāḥ

svaiḥ svair divyāstra-śastraughaiḥ

so ’grasat tāni kṛtsnaśaḥ

Translation

The demigods, headed by Indra, charged the demon with their soldiers, striking him with their own transcendental bows and arrows and other weapons but Vṛtrāsura swallowed all their weapons.

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.

The Demigods’ Weapons Prove Ineffective

  1. 1

    The demigods, headed by Indra, charged the demon with their soldiers.

  2. 2

    They struck him with their own transcendental bows, arrows and other weapons.

  3. 3

    Vṛtrāsura swallowed all their weapons. Their attack did not overcome him.

How it feels

Offense and dread → Moral reckoning. Heroic power does not guarantee inner freedom.

Chapters 7–10 of Canto 6: Indra, Bṛhaspati and the emergence of Vṛtrāsura. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 9: Appearance of the Demon Vṛtrāsura

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Later, he distributed these reactions among the land, water, trees and women in general. Since the land accepted one fourth of the sinful reactions, a portion of the land turned into desert.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.9
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tamhim
  2. nijaghnuḥstruck
  3. abhidrutyarunning to
  4. sa-gaṇāḥwith soldiers
  5. vibudha-ṛṣabhāḥall the great demigods
  6. svaiḥ svaiḥwith their own respective
  7. divyatranscendental
  8. astrabows and arrows
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

What does the failure of these weapons reveal about the demigods’ strength in this encounter?

Practice

Write one sentence contrasting the demigods’ attack with Vṛtrāsura’s response.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Demigods’ Weapons Prove IneffectiveThis 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 6.9.19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.