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

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Canto 7 · The Science of God · 15 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 7.10.37

Who is speaking and story frame

शयानौ युधि निर्भिन्नहृदयौ रामशायकै: ।

तच्चित्तौ जहतुर्देहं यथा प्राक्तनजन्मनि ॥ ३७ ॥

śayānau yudhi nirbhinna-

hṛdayau rāma-śāyakaiḥ

tac-cittau jahatur dehaṁ

yathā prāktana-janmani

Translation

Pierced by the arrows of Lord Rāmacandra, both Kumbhakarṇa and Rāvaṇa lay on the ground and left their bodies, fully absorbed in thought of the Lord, just as they had in their previous births as Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu.

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.

Absorbed in the Lord at Death

  1. 1

    Kumbhakarṇa and Rāvaṇa were pierced by Lord Rāmacandra’s arrows and lay on the ground.

  2. 2

    They left their bodies fully absorbed in thought of the Lord.

  3. 3

    They had also been absorbed in thought of the Lord in their previous births as Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu.

How it feels

Terror and divine fury → Protection and compassion. The crisis resolves through relationship rather than domination.

Chapters 8–10 of Canto 7: Nṛsiṁhadeva appears; Prahlāda pacifies Him. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 10: Prahlāda, the Best Among Exalted Devotees

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Thus Nārada Muni described the character of Prahlāda Mahārāja for Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, and he further described the killing of Rāvaṇa by Lord Rāmacandra and the killing of Śiśupāla and Dantavakra in Dvāpara-yuga. Śiśupāla, of course, had merged into the existence of the Lord and thus achieved sāyujya-mukti.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.10
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śayānaubeing laid down
  2. yudhion the battlefield
  3. nirbhinnabeing pierced
  4. hṛdayauin the core of the heart
  5. rāma-śāyakaiḥby the arrows of Lord Rāmacandra
  6. tat-cittauthinking or being conscious of Lord Rāmacandra
  7. jahatuḥgave up
  8. dehambody
  9. yathāeven as
  10. prāktana-janmaniin their previous births
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

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

How much space do thoughts of the Lord have in my day?

Practice

Set aside one quiet minute today to think of Lord Rāmacandra.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

Quoted in 2 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 2 lectures

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

7

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Live this todayAbsorbed in the Lord at DeathThis 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 7.10.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.