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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.
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Canto 9 · Chapter 16: Lord Paraśurāma Destroys the World’s Ruling Class
9.16.169.16.18-19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.16.17

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 9.16.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

गत्वा माहिष्मतीं रामो ब्रह्मघ्नविहतश्रियम् ।

तेषां स शीर्षभी राजन् मध्ये चक्रे महागिरिम् ॥ १७ ॥

gatvā māhiṣmatīṁ rāmo

brahma-ghna-vihata-śriyam

teṣāṁ sa śīrṣabhī rājan

madhye cakre mahā-girim

Translation

O King, Lord Paraśurāma then went to Māhiṣmatī, which was already doomed by the sinful killing of a brāhmaṇa. In the midst of that city he made a mountain of heads, severed from the bodies of the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Sinful Killing Brings Ruin

  1. 1

    Lord Paraśurāma went to Māhiṣmatī.

  2. 2

    The city was already doomed by the sinful killing of a brāhmaṇa.

  3. 3

    In the midst of the city, Lord Paraśurāma made a mountain of the severed heads of Kārtavīryārjuna’s sons.

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

Further reading

Chapter 16: Lord Paraśurāma Destroys the World’s Ruling Class

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Taking up his axe, he went to Māhiṣmatī-pura, the capital of Kārtavīryārjuna, and killed all of Kārtavīryārjuna’s sons, whose blood became a great river. Paraśurāma, however, was not satisfied with killing only the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna; later, when the kṣatriyas became disturbing, he killed them twenty-one times, so that there were no kṣatriyas on the surface of the earth.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 9.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. gatvāgoing
  2. māhiṣmatīmto the place known as Māhiṣmatī
  3. rāmaḥLord Paraśurāma
  4. brahma-ghnabecause of the killing of a brāhmaṇa
  5. vihata-śriyamdoomed, bereft of all opulences
  6. teṣāmof all of them (the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna and the other kṣatriya inhabitants)
  7. saḥhe, Lord Paraśurāma
  8. śīrṣabhiḥby the heads cut off from their bodies
3

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 9.16

    In this verse: “king”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 9.16

    In this verse: “sinful”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this account deepen my awareness of the serious consequences of harming others?

Practice

Pause before one potentially hurtful action today and consider its consequences.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySinful Killing Brings RuinThis 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 9.16.17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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