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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

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 3: The Marriage of Sukanyā and Cyavana Muni

9.3.13 9.3.15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.3.14

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Cyavana Munisince 9.3.12inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

इत्युक्तो जरया ग्रस्तदेहो धमनिसन्तत: ।

ह्रदं प्रवेशितोऽश्विभ्यां वलीपलितविग्रह: ॥ १४ ॥

ity ukto jarayā grasta-

deho dhamani-santataḥ

hradaṁ praveśito ’śvibhyāṁ

valī-palita-vigrahaḥ

Translation

After saying this, the Aśvinī-kumāras caught hold of Cyavana Muni, who was an old, diseased invalid with loose skin, white hair, and veins visible all over his body, and all three of them entered the lake.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Helping One Who Cannot Walk Alone

1
Cyavana Muni’s body was weakened by old age and disease. His skin was loose, his hair white, and his veins visible.
2
The purport explains that he was too old to enter the lake alone.
3
The Aśvinī-kumāras supported his body, and all three entered the lake together.

Key points from the purport

Cyavana Muni was so old that he could not enter the lake alone.
Thus the Aśvinī-kumāras caught hold of his body, and the three of them entered the lake.

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

Change → Acceptance. The instability of worldly identities is a recurring premise.

Chapters 1–3 of Canto 9: Dynastic origins and domestic transformations. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 3: The Marriage of Sukanyā and Cyavana Muni

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

These two physicians took Cyavana Muni to a particular lake, in which they bathed and regained full youth. After this, Sukanyā could not distinguish her husband.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 9.3