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Canto 9 · Liberation · 24 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 ›
Canto 9 · Chapter 10: The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Rāmacandra
9.10.109.10.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.10.11

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 9.10.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

रक्षोऽधमेन वृकवद् विपिनेऽसमक्षं

वैदेहराजदुहितर्यपयापितायाम् ।

भ्रात्रा वने कृपणवत् प्रियया वियुक्त:

स्त्रीसङ्गिनां गतिमिति प्रथयंश्चचार ॥ ११ ॥

rakṣo-’dhamena vṛkavad vipine ’samakṣaṁ

vaideha-rāja-duhitary apayāpitāyām

bhrātrā vane kṛpaṇavat priyayā viyuktaḥ

strī-saṅgināṁ gatim iti prathayaṁś cacāra

Translation

When Rāmacandra entered the forest and Lakṣmaṇa was also absent, the worst of the Rākṣasas, Rāvaṇa, kidnapped Sītādevī, the daughter of the King of Videha, just as a tiger seizes unprotected sheep when the shepherd is absent. Then Lord Rāmacandra wandered in the forest with His brother Lakṣmaṇa as if very much distressed due to separation from His wife. Thus He showed by His personal example the condition of a person attached to women.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Separation Is Spiritual

  1. 1

    Lord Rāmacandra wandered with Lakṣmaṇa as if deeply distressed by separation from Sītā. By this example, He showed the suffering connected with material attachment to women.

  2. 2

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not subject to material conditions. His separation from Sītā is vipralambha, a spiritual activity of His pleasure potency that increases spiritual bliss.

  3. 3

    Rāvaṇa could not actually take away the real Sītā; he took an illusory representation, māyā-sītā. The purport also emphasizes protecting women from exploitation.

Key points from the purport
  • The separation of Lord Rāmacandra from Sītā is spiritually understood as vipralambha, which is an activity of the hlādinī potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead belonging to the śṛṅgāra-rasa, the mellow of conjugal love in the spiritual world.
  • Thus when Lord Rāmacandra was separated from Sītā, all these spiritual symptoms were manifested.
  • Materially those who are attached to women suffer, but spiritually when there are feelings of separation between the Lord and His pleasure potency the spiritual bliss of the Lord increases.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 9.10.11 quotesBG 9.11

This is further explained in Bhagavad-gītā (9.11): One who does not know the spiritual potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead thinks of the Lord as an ordinary human being.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Exile and separation → Loyalty and reunion. Duty, loss and sacrifice shape the dramatic center of this canto.

Chapters 10–12 of Canto 9: The pastimes of Lord Rāmacandra. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 10: The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Rāmacandra

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When Sītādevī was kidnapped, Lord Rāmacandra, accompanied by Lakṣmaṇa, searched for her throughout the forest. In the course of this search, They met Jaṭāyu.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 9.10
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. rakṣaḥ-adhamenaby the most wicked among Rākṣasas, Rāvaṇa
  2. vṛka-vatlike a tiger
  3. vipinein the forest
  4. asamakṣamunprotected
  5. vaideha-rāja-duhitariby this condition of mother Sītā, the daughter of the King of Videha
  6. apayāpitāyāmhaving been kidnapped
  7. bhrātrāwith His brother
  8. vanein the forest
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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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 9.10

    In this verse: “attached”, “attachment”, “māyā-sītā”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 9.10

    In this verse: “distressed”, “suffering”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 9.10

    In this verse: “king”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the distinction between material distress and spiritual separation change my understanding of the Lord?

Practice

Write and reflect on this reminder: “The Lord’s mind, intelligence and senses are never affected by material conditions.”

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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Connected stories

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

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 9.10's connections

Live this todayThe Lord’s Separation Is SpiritualThis 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 9.10.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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