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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.4.69

Who is speaking and story frame

उपायं कथयिष्यामि तव विप्र श‍ृणुष्व तत् ।

अयं ह्यात्माभिचारस्ते यतस्तं याहि मा चिरम् ।

साधुषु प्रहितं तेज: प्रहर्तु: कुरुतेऽशिवम् ॥ ६९ ॥

upāyaṁ kathayiṣyāmi

tava vipra śṛṇuṣva tat

ayaṁ hy ātmābhicāras te

yatas taṁ yāhi mā ciram

sādhuṣu prahitaṁ tejaḥ

prahartuḥ kurute ’śivam

Translation

O brāhmaṇa, let Me now advise you for your own protection. Please hear from Me. By offending Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, you have acted with self-envy. Therefore you should go to him immediately, without a moment’s delay. One’s so-called prowess, when employed against the devotee, certainly harms he who employs it. Thus it is the subject, not the object, who is harmed.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Harming a Devotee Harms the Offender

  1. 1

    The Lord tells Durvāsā to go immediately to Mahārāja Ambarīṣa for protection. Using power against a devotee harms the person who uses it.

  2. 2

    Service to a Vaiṣṇava gradually accumulates as a spiritual asset. Harmful actions against a devotee gradually become the cause of the offender’s downfall.

  3. 3

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead takes offenses against His devotees seriously. Even Durvāsā’s great learning and mystic power could not keep him safe from the consequences.

Key points from the purport
  • To give a practical example, Hiraṇyakaśipu was envious of Prahlāda Mahārāja, but this envy of the devotee was harmful to Hiraṇyakaśipu, not to Prahlāda.
  • Every action taken by Hiraṇyakaśipu against his son Prahlāda Mahārāja was taken very seriously by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus when Hiraṇyakaśipu was on the verge of killing Prahlāda, the Lord personally appeared and killed Hiraṇyakaśipu.
  • Even such a great brāhmaṇa and mystic yogī as Durvāsā was in a most dangerous situation because of his offense at the lotus feet of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, a pure devotee.

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

Peril and anger → Faith and mercy. The contrast between pride and steadiness becomes clear.

Chapters 4–5 of Canto 9: Ambarīṣa's devotion and Durvāsā's anger. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 4: Ambarīṣa Mahārāja Offended by Durvāsā Muni

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, is always the protector of His devotee, and to protect Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, He sent His disc, the Sudarśana cakra, which immediately vanquished the fiery demon and then pursued Durvāsā, who was so envious of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. Durvāsā fled to Brahmaloka, Śivaloka and all the other higher planets, but he could not protect himself from the wrath of the Sudarśana cakra.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 9.4
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. upāyamthe means of protection in this dangerous position
  2. kathayiṣyāmiI shall speak to you
  3. tavaof your deliverance from this danger
  4. vipraO brāhmaṇa
  5. śṛṇuṣvajust hear from me
  6. tatwhat I say
  7. ayamthis action taken by you
  8. hiindeed
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 9.4

    In this verse: “offending”, “offenses”, “offender’s”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 9.4

    In this verse: “protection”, “safe”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 9.4

    In this verse: “devotee”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I using my abilities to serve devotees or to compete with them?

Practice

Use one ability you have to offer a small service to a devotee today.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Live this todayHarming a Devotee Harms the OffenderThis 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 9.4.69? Get an answer from the verses themselves.