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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 9.8.12

Who is speaking and story frame

न साधुवादो मुनिकोपभर्जिता

नृपेन्द्रपुत्रा इति सत्त्वधामनि ।

कथं तमो रोषमयं विभाव्यते

जगत्पवित्रात्मनि खे रजो भुव: ॥ १२ ॥

na sādhu-vādo muni-kopa-bharjitā

nṛpendra-putrā iti sattva-dhāmani

kathaṁ tamo roṣamayaṁ vibhāvyate

jagat-pavitrātmani khe rajo bhuvaḥ

Translation

It is sometimes argued that the sons of King Sagara were burned to ashes by the fire emanating from the eyes of Kapila Muni. This statement, however, is not approved by great learned persons, for Kapila Muni’s body is completely in the mode of goodness and therefore cannot manifest the mode of ignorance in the form of anger, just as the pure sky cannot be polluted by the dust of the earth.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kapila Muni Is Free from Ignorant Anger

  1. 1

    Great learned persons do not approve the claim that Sagara’s sons were burned by fire from Kapila Muni’s eyes.

  2. 2

    Kapila Muni’s body is completely in the mode of goodness. It cannot manifest the mode of ignorance in the form of anger.

  3. 3

    The verse compares this purity to the pure sky, which cannot be polluted by the dust of the earth.

How it feels

Attachment and struggle → Renunciation and responsibility. Multiple royal lives reveal the cost of choices.

Chapters 6–9 of Canto 9: Saubhari, Sagara and Bhagīratha's lineage. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 8: The Sons of Sagara Meet Lord Kapiladeva

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

While searching for the horse, the sons of Sumati extensively dug up the surface of the earth and in this way dug a trench, which later became known as the Sāgara Ocean. In the course of this search, they came upon the great personality Kapiladeva and thought Him to have stolen the horse.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 9.8
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nanot
  2. sādhu-vādaḥthe opinion of learned persons
  3. muni-kopaby the anger of Kapila Muni
  4. bharjitāḥwere burned to ashes
  5. nṛpendra-putrāḥall the sons of Sagara Mahārāja
  6. itithus
  7. sattva-dhāmaniin Kapila Muni, in whom the mode of goodness was predominant
  8. kathamhow
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 9.8

    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 image of the pure sky help you understand Kapila Muni’s freedom from ignorant anger?

Practice

Write one sentence explaining why this verse rejects the claim that Kapila Muni burned the sons in anger.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

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

Live this todayKapila Muni Is Free from Ignorant AngerThis 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 9.8.12? Get an answer from the verses themselves.