Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.14.6
ययोत्तानपद: पुत्रो मुनिना गीतयार्भक: ।
मृत्यो: कृत्वैव मूर्ध्न्यङ्घ्रि मारुरोह हरे: पदम् ॥ ६ ॥
yayottānapadaḥ putro
[yayottaanapadah putro]
muninā gītayārbhakaḥ
[muninaa geetayaarbhakah]
mṛtyoḥ kṛtvaiva mūrdhny aṅghrim
[mrityoh kritvaiva moordhny anghrim]
āruroha hareḥ padam
[aaruroha hareh padam]
Word-for-word
yayā
—
by which
uttānapadaḥ
—
of King Uttānapāda
putraḥ
—
son
muninā
—
by the sage
gītayā
—
being sung
arbhakaḥ
—
a child
mṛtyoḥ
—
of death
kṛtvā
—
placing
eva
—
certainly
mūrdhni
—
on the head
aṅghrim
—
feet
āruroha
—
ascended
hareḥ
—
of the Personality of Godhead
padam
—
to the abode.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yayottānapadaḥ putro
yayā
by which
uttānapadaḥ
of King Uttānapāda
putraḥ
son
muninā gītayārbhakaḥ
muninā
by the sage
gītayā
being sung
arbhakaḥ
a child
mṛtyoḥ kṛtvaiva mūrdhny aṅghrim
mṛtyoḥ
of death
kṛtvā
placing
eva
certainly
mūrdhni
on the head
aṅghrim
feet
āruroha hareḥ padam
āruroha
ascended
hareḥ
of the Personality of Godhead
padam
to the abode.
By hearing these topics from the sage [Nārada], the son of King Uttānapāda [Dhruva] was enlightened regarding the Personality of Godhead, and he ascended to the abode of the Lord, placing his feet over the head of death.
Purport
While quitting his body, Mahārāja Dhruva, the son of King Uttānapāda, was attended by personalities like Sunanda and others, who received him in the kingdom of God. He left this world at an early age, as a young boy, although he had attained the throne of his father and had several children of his own. Because he was due to quit this world, death was waiting for him. He did not care for death, however, and even with his present body he boarded a spiritual airplane and went directly to the planet of Viṣṇu because of his association with the great sage Nārada, who had spoken to him the narration of the pastimes of the Lord.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
By hearing Nārada recite this story of the Lord when he was young, Dhruva, the son of Uttānapada, placing his foot upon death’s head, ascended to the abode of the Lord.
Proof is given that topics of the Lord deliver the world. At the approach of Dhruva’s death, when death was near, when Sunanda and other servants of Viṣṇu came to put him on the airplane, Dhruva, looking for steps to the vehicle, saw death standing there, and thinking that it was a good opportunity, he put his head on death’s head to mount the airplane, without giving up his body. He then went to the abode of Viṣṇu.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Chanting and hearing, in this verse, are not religious rituals but the actual means of changing what we love. The mouth and ear do what willpower alone cannot.
Reflection Questions
- When was the last time you sat to hear about the Lord without checking the time?
- What input have you been allowing in that quietly undoes your hearing of the Lord?
My note
Source: vedabase.io