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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.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 9 · Chapter 3: The Marriage of Sukanyā and Cyavana Muni
9.3.319.3.33

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.3.32

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Cyavana Munisince 9.3.12inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

तत्पुत्रपौत्रनप्तृणां गोत्राणि च न श‍ृण्महे ।

कालोऽभियातस्त्रिणवचतुर्युगविकल्पित: ॥ ३२ ॥

tat putra-pautra-naptṝṇāṁ

gotrāṇi ca na śṛṇmahe

kālo ’bhiyātas tri-ṇava-

catur-yuga-vikalpitaḥ

Translation

Twenty-seven catur-yugas have already passed. Those upon whom you may have decided are now gone, and so are their sons, grandsons and other descendants. You cannot even hear about their names.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Even Great Names Fade with Time

  1. 1

    During Lord Brahmā’s day, fourteen Manus or one thousand mahā-yugas pass away.

  2. 2

    Brahmā told King Kakudmī that twenty-seven mahā-yugas had passed. Each consists of Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali.

  3. 3

    The kings, great personalities and their descendants had departed from memory into obscurity. This is the way of time as it moves through past, present and future.

Key points from the purport
  • During Lord Brahmā’s day, fourteen Manus or one thousand mahā-yugas pass away.
  • Brahmā informed King Kakudmī that twenty-seven mahā-yugas, each consisting of the four periods Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, had already passed.
  • All the kings and other great personalities born in those yugas had now departed from memory into obscurity.

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

Further reading

Chapter 3: The Marriage of Sukanyā and Cyavana Muni

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Revata had one hundred sons, of whom the eldest was Kakudmī. Kakudmī was advised by Lord Brahmā to offer his beautiful daughter, Revatī, to Baladeva, who belongs to the viṣṇu-tattva category.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 9.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tatthere
  2. putraof the sons
  3. pautraof the grandsons
  4. naptṝṇāmand of the descendants
  5. gotrāṇithe family dynasties
  6. caalso
  7. nanot
  8. śṛṇmahewe do hear of
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 9.3

    In this verse: “king”

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 the fading of even great names change my view of lasting recognition?

Practice

Write one sentence reflecting on why being remembered cannot be a permanent achievement.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayEven Great Names Fade with TimeThis 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.

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