FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.14.51

मैत्रेय उवाच श्रुत्वा भागवतं पौत्रममोदत दितिर्भृशम् । पुत्रयोश्च वधं कृष्णाद्विदित्वासीन्महामना: ॥ ५१ ॥
maitreya uvāca
[maitreya uvaacha]
śrutvā bhāgavataṁ pautram
[shrutvaa bhaagavatam pautram]
amodata ditir bhṛśam
[amodata ditir bhrisham]
putrayoś ca vadhaṁ kṛṣṇād
[putrayosh cha vadham krishnaad]
viditvāsīn mahā-manāḥ
[viditvaaseen mahaa-manaah]
maitreyaḥ uvāca — the sage Maitreya said śrutvā — by hearing bhāgavatam — to be a great devotee of the Lord pautram — grandson amodata — took pleasure ditiḥ — Diti bhṛśam — very greatly putrayoḥ — of two sons ca — also vadham — the killing kṛṣṇāt — by Kṛṣṇa viditvā — knowing this āsīt — became mahā-manāḥ — highly pleased in mind.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
maitreya uvāca
maitreyaḥ uvāca
the sage Maitreya said
śrutvā bhāgavataṁ pautram
śrutvā
by hearing
bhāgavatam
to be a great devotee of the Lord
pautram
grandson
amodata ditir bhṛśam
amodata
took pleasure
ditiḥ
Diti
bhṛśam
very greatly
putrayoś ca vadhaṁ kṛṣṇād
putrayoḥ
of two sons
ca
also
vadham
the killing
kṛṣṇāt
by Kṛṣṇa
viditvāsīn mahā-manāḥ
viditvā
knowing this
āsīt
became
mahā-manāḥ
highly pleased in mind.
The sage Maitreya said: Hearing that her grandson would be a great devotee and that her sons would be killed by Kṛṣṇa, Diti was highly pleased in mind.

Diti was very aggrieved to learn that because of her untimely pregnancy her sons would be demons and would fight with the Lord. But when she heard that her grandson would be a great devotee and that her two sons would be killed by the Lord, she was very satisfied. As the wife of a great sage and the daughter of a great Prajāpati, Dakṣa, she knew that being killed by the Personality of Godhead is a great fortune. Since the Lord is absolute, His acts of violence and nonviolence are both on the absolute platform. There is no difference in such acts of the Lord. Mundane violence and nonviolence have nothing to do with the Lord’s acts. A demon killed by Him attains the same result as one who attains liberation after many, many births of penance and austerity. The word bhṛśam is significant herein because it indicates that Diti was pleased beyond her expectations.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Third Canto, Fourteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Maitreya said: Hearing about her grandson devotee, Diti became greatly pleased. She was satisfied, knowing that her sons would be killed by the Lord. She became joyful. “My sinful acts will produce such a rare result, the summation of all pious actions.” She became joyful at her good fortune. She was pleased (mahā-manāḥ) since her sons would attain a glorious fame and fortunate end. Thus ends the commentary on Fourteenth Chapter of the Third Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas Chapter Fifteen The Kumāras Curse the Door Keepers
Talks about the Lord, repeated with attention, are described here as transformative in their own right. The verse implies that what we listen to all day is quietly shaping who we become.
Reflection Questions
  • What podcast or playlist would you have to give up to make room for daily kṛṣṇa-kathā?
  • What would change if you treated 30 minutes of kṛṣṇa-kathā as non-negotiable as a meal?
📝 My note

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