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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 18: King Yayāti Regains His Youth
9.18.49.18.6-7

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.18.5

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:King Parīkṣitsince 9.18.5inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीराजोवाच

ब्रह्मर्षिर्भगवान् काव्य: क्षत्रबन्धुश्च नाहुष: ।

राजन्यविप्रयो: कस्माद् विवाह: प्रतिलोमक: ॥ ५ ॥

śrī-rājovāca

brahmarṣir bhagavān kāvyaḥ

kṣatra-bandhuś ca nāhuṣaḥ

rājanya-viprayoḥ kasmād

vivāhaḥ pratilomakaḥ

Translation

Mahārāja Parīkṣit said: Śukrācārya was a very powerful brāhmaṇa, and Mahārāja Yayāti was a kṣatriya. Therefore I am curious to know how there occurred this pratiloma marriage between a kṣatriya and a brāhmaṇa.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Ask About What You Do Not Understand

  1. 1

    The purport explains that marriage within the same class was the general Vedic custom.

  2. 2

    Marriage between a brāhmaṇa man and a kṣatriya's daughter is called anuloma and is permissible. Marriage between a kṣatriya man and a brāhmaṇa's daughter is called pratiloma and is not generally allowed.

  3. 3

    Mahārāja Parīkṣit wanted to understand how the powerful brāhmaṇa Śukrācārya had accepted this uncommon marriage.

Key points from the purport
  • Anuloma, marriage between a brāhmaṇa and the daughter of a kṣatriya, is permissible, but pratiloma, marriage between a kṣatriya and the daughter of a brāhmaṇa, is not generally allowed.
  • Therefore Mahārāja Parīkṣit was curious about how Śukrācārya, a powerful brāhmaṇa, could accept the principle of pratiloma.
  • Mahārāja Parīkṣit was eager to know the cause for this uncommon marriage.

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

Insatiable desire → Renunciation. Exhausted enjoyment generates insight.

Chapters 18–19 of Canto 9: Yayāti's craving and liberation. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 18: King Yayāti Regains His Youth

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Śukrācārya was a brāhmaṇa and Yayāti a kṣatriya, but Yayāti married her nonetheless. Śukrācārya’s daughter, named Devayānī, had a girlfriend named Śarmiṣṭhā, who was the daughter of Vṛṣaparvā.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 9.18
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-rājā uvācaMahārāja Parīkṣit inquired
  2. brahma-ṛṣiḥthe best of the brāhmaṇas
  3. bhagavānvery powerful
  4. kāvyaḥŚukrācārya
  5. kṣatra-bandhuḥbelonged to the kṣatriya class
  6. caalso
  7. nāhuṣaḥKing Yayāti
  8. rājanya-viprayoḥof a brāhmaṇa and a kṣatriya
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 9.18

    In this verse: “understand”

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

When something in your reading seems unusual, do you pause to seek its explanation?

Practice

Write down one sincere question from today's study rather than guessing its answer.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayAsk About What You Do Not UnderstandThis 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 9.18.5? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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