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

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Canto 9 · Liberation · 24 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.

Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Canto 9 · Chapter 1: King Sudyumna Becomes a Woman

9.1.28 9.1.30

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.1.29

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 9.1.29inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीशुक उवाच

एकदा गिरिशं द्रष्टुमृषयस्तत्र सुव्रता: ।

दिशो वितिमिराभासा: कुर्वन्त: समुपागमन् ॥ २९ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca

ekadā giriśaṁ draṣṭum

ṛṣayas tatra suvratāḥ

diśo vitimirābhāsāḥ

kurvantaḥ samupāgaman

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī answered: Great saintly persons who strictly observed the spiritual rules and regulations and whose own effulgence dissipated all the darkness of all directions once came to see Lord Śiva in that forest.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Saintly Persons Visit Lord Śiva

1
Śukadeva Gosvāmī explained that great saintly persons once came to see Lord Śiva in the forest.
2
These saintly persons strictly observed spiritual rules and regulations.
3
Their own effulgence dissipated the darkness in all directions.

How it feels

Change → Acceptance. The instability of worldly identities is a recurring premise.

Chapters 1–3 of Canto 9: Dynastic origins and domestic transformations. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 1: King Sudyumna Becomes a Woman

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Once upon a time, Sudyumna went on tour with his ministers. At the foot of the mountain Sumeru there is a forest named Sukumāra, and as soon as they entered that forest, they were all transformed into women.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 9.1