FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.19.32

मया यथानूक्तमवादि ते हरे: कृतावतारस्य सुमित्र चेष्टितम् । यथा हिरण्याक्ष उदारविक्रमो महामृधे क्रीडनवन्निराकृत: ॥ ३२ ॥
mayā yathānūktam avādi te hareḥ
[mayaa yathaanooktam avaadi te hareh]
kṛtāvatārasya sumitra ceṣṭitam
[kritaavataarasya sumitra cheshtitam]
yathā hiraṇyākṣa udāra-vikramo
[yathaa hiranyaaksha udaara-vikramo]
mahā-mṛdhe krīḍanavan nirākṛtaḥ
[mahaa-mridhe kreedanavan niraakritah]
mayā — by me yathā — as anūktam — told avādi — was explained te — to you hareḥ — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead kṛta-avatārasya — who assumed the incarnation sumitra — O dear Vidura ceṣṭitam — the activities yathā — as hiraṇyākṣaḥ — Hiraṇyākṣa udāra — very extensive vikramaḥ — prowess mahā-mṛdhe — in a great fight krīḍana-vat — like a plaything nirākṛtaḥ — was killed.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
mayā yathānūktam avādi te hareḥ
mayā
by me
yathā
as
anūktam
told
avādi
was explained
te
to you
hareḥ
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
kṛtāvatārasya sumitra ceṣṭitam
kṛta-avatārasya
who assumed the incarnation
sumitra
O dear Vidura
ceṣṭitam
the activities
yathā hiraṇyākṣa udāra-vikramo
yathā
as
hiraṇyākṣaḥ
Hiraṇyākṣa
udāra
very extensive
vikramaḥ
prowess
mahā-mṛdhe krīḍanavan nirākṛtaḥ
mahā-mṛdhe
in a great fight
krīḍana-vat
like a plaything
nirākṛtaḥ
was killed.
Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, I have explained to you the Personality of Godhead’s coming down as the first boar incarnation and killing in a great fight a demon of unprecedented prowess as if he were just a plaything. This has been narrated by me as I heard it from my predecessor spiritual master.

Here the sage Maitreya admits that he explained the incident of the killing of Hiraṇyākṣa by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a straight narration; he did not manufacture anything or add interpretation, but explained whatever he had heard from his spiritual master. Thus he accepted as bona fide the system of paramparā, or receiving the transcendental message in disciplic succession. Unless received by this bona fide process of hearing from a spiritual master, the statement of an ācārya or preceptor cannot be valid.

It is also stated here that although the demon Hiraṇyākṣa was unlimited in prowess, he was just like a doll for the Lord. A child breaks so many dolls without real endeavor. Similarly, although a demon may be very powerful and extraordinary in the eyes of an ordinary man in the material world, to the Lord, killing such a demon is no difficulty. He can kill millions of demons as simply as a child plays with dolls and breaks them.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
I have recited to you the story of the Lord as the boar avatāra in which Hiraṇyākṣa was killed by the Lord in battle like a play thing, just as I have heard from the guru. Yathānūktam means “I have said what the guru has said, and did not go beyond that.” Or it can mean “I have gained the meaning of what the guru said (uktam), and then (anu), I have spoken (avādi) it to you.” O Vidura! How are the activities recognized? In that activity, the demon was killed by the Lord in battle.
Inquiry here is not casual curiosity — it is a serious approach made by someone ready to be changed. The verse asks the reader to examine the quality of their own inquiries. The verse anchors this in Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Reflection Questions
  • Where have you tried to learn devotion without a living human guide?
  • Whose lineage do you stand inside, even quietly, and how does that shape what you hear?
📝 My note

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