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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
  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 9.10.15

Who is speaking and story frame

कामं प्रयाहि जहि विश्रवसोऽवमेहं

त्रैलोक्यरावणमवाप्नुहि वीर पत्नीम् ।

बध्नीहि सेतुमिह ते यशसो वितत्यै

गायन्ति दिग्विजयिनो यमुपेत्य भूपा: ॥ १५ ॥

kāmaṁ prayāhi jahi viśravaso ’vamehaṁ

trailokya-rāvaṇam avāpnuhi vīra patnīm

badhnīhi setum iha te yaśaso vitatyai

gāyanti dig-vijayino yam upetya bhūpāḥ

Translation

My Lord, You may use my water as You like. Indeed, You may cross it and go to the abode of Rāvaṇa, who is the great source of disturbance and crying for the three worlds. He is the son of Viśravā, but is condemned like urine. Please go kill him and thus regain Your wife, Sītādevī. O great hero, although my water presents no impediment to Your going to Laṅkā, please construct a bridge over it to spread Your transcendental fame. Upon seeing this wonderfully uncommon deed of Your Lordship, all the great heroes and kings in the future will glorify You.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Recognize the Lord’s Extraordinary Power

  1. 1

    Rāvaṇa caused disturbances throughout the three worlds. His birth as the son of Viśravā did not make his conduct glorious.

  2. 2

    Lord Rāmacandra is omnipotent and is not hindered by material obstacles. His bridge of floating stones displayed His extraordinary power and spread His fame.

  3. 3

    We accept Lord Rāmacandra and Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because of their transcendentally wonderful activities. The śāstras describe these activities; a little magic or popular approval does not establish someone as God.

Key points from the purport
  • The Lord can act without regard to material impediments or inconveniences, but to prove that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and was not merely advertised as Godhead or elected by popular vote, He constructed a wonderful bridge over the ocean.
  • Lord Rāmacandra, however, constructed a bridge over the water with stone by making the stone float.
  • We accept Lord Rāmacandra as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He constructed this bridge, and we accept Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He lifted Govardhana Hill when He was only seven years old.

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 9.10.15 quotesBG 4.9

Therefore, the Lord Himself says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9): “One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.”

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 the Lord descended into this world in His full quadruple expansion — as Lord Rāmacandra, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata and Śatrughna — great sages like Vālmīki who were actually in knowledge of the Absolute Truth described His transcendental pastimes. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes these pastimes in brief.
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. kāmamas You like
  2. prayāhiYou may go over my water
  3. jahijust conquer
  4. viśravasaḥof Viśravā Muni
  5. avamehampollution, like urine
  6. trailokyafor the three worlds
  7. rāvaṇamthe person known as Rāvaṇa, the cause of weeping
  8. avāpnuhiregain
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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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 9.10

    In this verse: “kings”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 9.10

    In this verse: “crying”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 9.10

    In this verse: “glorify”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Why is scriptural understanding more reliable than being impressed by a display of magic?

Practice

Reread the purport’s account of the floating stones and reflect on the Lord’s extraordinary power.

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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.

Live this todayRecognize the Lord’s Extraordinary PowerThis 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 9.10.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.