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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 11: Lord Rāmacandra Rules the World
9.11.199.11.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.11.20

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 9.11.10inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

नेदं यशो रघुपते: सुरयाच्ञयात्त-

लीलातनोरधिकसाम्यविमुक्तधाम्न: ।

रक्षोवधो जलधिबन्धनमस्त्रपूगै:

किं तस्य शत्रुहनने कपय: सहाया: ॥ २० ॥

nedaṁ yaśo raghupateḥ sura-yācñayātta-

līlā-tanor adhika-sāmya-vimukta-dhāmnaḥ

rakṣo-vadho jaladhi-bandhanam astra-pūgaiḥ

kiṁ tasya śatru-hanane kapayaḥ sahāyāḥ

Translation

Lord Rāmacandra’s reputation for having killed Rāvaṇa with showers of arrows at the request of the demigods and for having built a bridge over the ocean does not constitute the factual glory of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Rāmacandra, whose spiritual body is always engaged in various pastimes. Lord Rāmacandra has no equal or superior, and therefore He had no need to take help from the monkeys to gain victory over Rāvaṇa.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Supreme Lord Acts to Please Devotees

  1. 1

    Lord Rāmacandra is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with no equal or superior. Everything is accomplished naturally through His many energies.

  2. 2

    The Lord has no duty to perform to oblige anyone; whatever He does is His pastime. He did not need the monkeys’ help to defeat Rāvaṇa.

  3. 3

    The Lord acts like a human being to display wonderful activities that please His devotees. His victories satisfy both Himself and those who love Him.

Key points from the purport
  • The Lord has no duty to perform to oblige anyone.
  • There is actually no question of anyone’s being His enemy, but when the Lord wants to take pleasure in pastimes, He comes down to this material world and acts like a human being, thus showing His wonderful, glorious activities to please the devotees.
  • His devotees always want to see the Lord victorious in varied activities, and therefore, to please Himself and them, the Lord sometimes agrees to act as a human being and perform wonderful, uncommon pastimes for the satisfaction of the devotees.

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

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 11: Lord Rāmacandra Rules the World

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Lord Rāmacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, performed various sacrifices by which to worship Himself, and at the end of these sacrifices He gave land to the hotā, adhvaryu, udgātā and brahmā priests. He gave them the eastern, western, northern and southern directions respectively, and the balance He gave to the ācārya.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 9.11
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nanot
  2. idamall these
  3. yaśaḥfame
  4. raghu-pateḥof Lord Rāmacandra
  5. sura-yācñayāby the prayers of the demigods
  6. ātta-līlā-tanoḥwhose spiritual body is always engaged in various pastimes
  7. adhika-sāmya-vimukta-dhāmnaḥno one is greater than or equal to Him
  8. rakṣaḥ-vadhaḥkilling the Rākṣasa (Rāvaṇa)
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 9.11

    In this verse: “duty”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 9.11

    In this verse: “love”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 9.11

    In this verse: “devotees”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does knowing that the Lord acts freely change my understanding of His pastimes?

Practice

Reread one activity described in the translation and reflect that the Lord performs it for pleasure, not from need.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Supreme Lord Acts to Please DevoteesThis 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 9.11.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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