1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter

Canto

Canto 9 · Liberation · 24 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 13: The Dynasty of Mahārāja Nimi

9.13.2 9.13.4

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.13.3

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 9.13.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

निमिश्चलमिदं विद्वान् सत्रमारभतात्मवान् ।

ऋत्विग्भिरपरैस्तावन्नागमद् यावता गुरु: ॥ ३ ॥

nimiś calam idaṁ vidvān

satram ārabhatātmavān

ṛtvigbhir aparais tāvan

nāgamad yāvatā guruḥ

Translation

Mahārāja Nimi, being a self-realized soul, considered that this life is flickering. Therefore, instead of waiting long for Vasiṣṭha, he began performing the sacrifice with other priests.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Use This Brief Life for Godhead

1
Mahārāja Nimi was self-realized and understood that life is flickering and may end at any moment.
2
Rather than wait long for Vasiṣṭha, he began the sacrifice with other priests.
3
Human life should be used for activities that lead one back home, back to Godhead. The purport calls this self-realization.

Key points from the purport

Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says, śarīraṁ kṣaṇa-vidhvāṁsi kalpānta-sthāyino guṇāḥ: “The duration of one’s life in the material world may end at any moment, but if within this life one does something worthy, that qualification is depicted in history eternally.”
Here is a great personality, Mahārāja Nimi, who knew this fact.
In the human form of life one should perform activities in such a way that at the end he goes back home, back to Godhead.

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

Longing and conflict → Detachment and justice. Dynastic episodes explore personal desire and force.

Chapters 13–17 of Canto 9: Nimi, Purūravā and Paraśurāma. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 13: The Dynasty of Mahārāja Nimi

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When Mahārāja Nimi began performing great sacrifices, he appointed Vasiṣṭha to be chief priest, but Vasiṣṭha refused, for he had already agreed to be priest in performing a yajña for Lord Indra. Vasiṣṭha therefore requested Mahārāja Nimi to wait until Lord Indra’s sacrifice was finished, but Mahārāja Nimi did not wait.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 9.13