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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 9.10.23

Who is speaking and story frame

एवं क्षिपन् धनुषि संधितमुत्ससर्ज

बाणं स वज्रमिव तद्‍धृदयं बिभेद ।

सोऽसृग् वमन् दशमुखैर्न्यपतद् विमाना-

द्धाहेति जल्पति जने सुकृतीव रिक्त: ॥ २३ ॥

evaṁ kṣipan dhanuṣi sandhitam utsasarja

bāṇaṁ sa vajram iva tad-dhṛdayaṁ bibheda

so ’sṛg vaman daśa-mukhair nyapatad vimānād

dhāheti jalpati jane sukṛtīva riktaḥ

Translation

After thus rebuking Rāvaṇa, Lord Rāmacandra fixed an arrow to His bow, aimed at Rāvaṇa, and released the arrow, which pierced Rāvaṇa’s heart like a thunderbolt. Upon seeing this, Rāvaṇa’s followers raised a tumultuous sound, crying, “Alas! Alas! What has happened? What has happened?” as Rāvaṇa, vomiting blood from his ten mouths, fell from his airplane, just as a pious man falls to earth from the heavenly planets when the results of his pious activities are exhausted.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Gives a Secure Spiritual Position

  1. 1

    Lord Rāmacandra’s arrow pierced Rāvaṇa’s heart, and he fell from his airplane. His great power and material wealth could not secure his position.

  2. 2

    Neither pious nor impious fruitive activities free one from repeated birth and death. Offending the Supreme Personality of Godhead destroys the results of pious activities.

  3. 3

    One should transcend both pious and impious activities and become fixed in devotional service. This places one above the material platform, beyond its higher and lower positions.

Key points from the purport
  • In Bhagavad-gītā (9.21) it is said, kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti: “When the results of their pious activities are exhausted, those who have enjoyed in the heavenly planets fall again to earth.”
  • Somehow or other, Rāvaṇa was raised to an exalted position as the king of a great kingdom with all material opulences, but because of his sinful act of kidnapping mother Sītā, all the results of his pious activities were destroyed.
  • If one offends an exalted personality, especially the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one certainly becomes most abominable; bereft of the results of pious activities, one must fall down like Rāvaṇa and other demons.

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· 2

The purport of SB 9.10.23 quotesBG 9.21

In Bhagavad-gītā (9.21) it is said, kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti: “When the results of their pious activities are exhausted, those who have enjoyed in the heavenly planets fall again to earth.”

The purport of SB 9.10.23 quotesBG 3.27

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by nature.”

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 Mārīca assumed the form of a golden deer, Lord Rāmacandra went to bring the deer to please Sītādevī, but in the meantime Rāvaṇa took advantage of the Lord’s absence to kidnap her. When Sītādevī was kidnapped, Lord Rāmacandra, accompanied by Lakṣmaṇa, searched for her throughout the forest.
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. evamin this way
  2. kṣipanchastising (Rāvaṇa)
  3. dhanuṣion the bow
  4. sandhitamfixed an arrow
  5. utsasarjareleased (toward him)
  6. bāṇamthe arrow
  7. saḥthat arrow
  8. vajram ivalike a thunderbolt
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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

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

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

    In this verse: “crying”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “wealth”, “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 9.10

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I seeking security in material success or in devotional service?

Practice

Set aside a few minutes today for devotional service without seeking a material reward.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Service Gives a Secure Spiritual PositionThis 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 9.10.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.