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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

9.3.14 9.3.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.3.15

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

पुरुषास्त्रय उत्तस्थुरपीव्या वनिताप्रिया: ।

पद्मस्रज: कुण्डलिनस्तुल्यरूपा: सुवासस: ॥ १५ ॥

puruṣās traya uttasthur

apīvyā vanitā-priyāḥ

padma-srajaḥ kuṇḍalinas

tulya-rūpāḥ suvāsasaḥ

Translation

Thereafter, three men with very beautiful bodily features emerged from the lake. They were nicely dressed and decorated with earrings and garlands of lotuses. All of them were of the same standard of beauty.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Three Men of Equal Beauty

1
Three men emerged from the lake with very beautiful bodily features.
2
They were nicely dressed and decorated with earrings and garlands of lotuses.
3
All three were of the same standard of beauty.

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