FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.11.1

मैत्रेय उवाच निशम्य गदतामेवमृषीणां धनुषि ध्रुव: । सन्दधेऽस्त्रमुपस्पृश्य यन्नारायणनिर्मितम् ॥ १ ॥
maitreya uvāca
[maitreya uvaacha]
niśamya gadatām evam
[nishamya gadataam evam]
ṛṣīṇāṁ dhanuṣi dhruvaḥ
[risheenaam dhanushi dhruvah]
sandadhe ’stram upaspṛśya
[sandadhe ’stram upasprishya]
yan nārāyaṇa-nirmitam
[yan naaraayana-nirmitam]
Word-for-word
maitreyaḥ uvāca — the sage Maitreya continued to speak niśamya — having heard gadatām — the words evam — thus ṛṣīṇām — of the sages dhanuṣi — upon his bow dhruvaḥ — Dhruva Mahārāja sandadhe — fixed astram — an arrow upaspṛśya — after touching water yat — that which nārāyaṇa — by Nārāyaṇa nirmitam — was made.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
maitreya uvāca
maitreyaḥ uvāca
the sage Maitreya continued to speak
niśamya gadatām evam
niśamya
having heard
gadatām
the words
evam
thus
ṛṣīṇāṁ dhanuṣi dhruvaḥ
ṛṣīṇām
of the sages
dhanuṣi
upon his bow
dhruvaḥ
Dhruva Mahārāja
sandadhe ’stram upaspṛśya
sandadhe
fixed
astram
an arrow
upaspṛśya
after touching water
yat
that which
yan nārāyaṇa-nirmitam
nārāyaṇa
by Nārāyaṇa
nirmitam
was made.
Śrī Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, when Dhruva Mahārāja heard the encouraging words of the great sages, he performed the ācamana by touching water and then took up his arrow made by Lord Nārāyaṇa and fixed it upon his bow.
Purport

Dhruva Mahārāja was given a specific arrow made by Lord Nārāyaṇa Himself, and he now fixed it upon his bow to finish the illusory atmosphere created by the Yakṣas. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14) , mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. Without Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no one is able to overcome the action of the illusory energy. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has also given us a nice weapon for this age, as stated in the Bhāgavatam: sāṅgopāṅgāstra — in this age, the nārāyaṇāstra, or weapon to drive away māyā, is the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra in pursuance of the associates of Lord Caitanya, such as Advaita Prabhu, Nityānanda, Gadādhara and Śrīvāsa.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Maitreya said: Here the words spoken by the sages, Dhruva, after performing ācamana, strung an arrow made by Nārāyaṇa on his bow. In the Eleventh Chapter, Manu, seeing the destruction of the Yakṣas, stops Dhruva from killing them, after giving scriptural instructions. The word vacaḥ should be supplied to make the phrase “the words spoken by the sages.”
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Encouraged by the sages, Dhruva does ācamana and fixes the nārāyaṇāstra on his bow. The right preparation precedes the right weapon; ritual purity is part of the technique, not an afterthought.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I reach for the powerful tool without first preparing my own state?
  • What small purification could change the effect of my next decisive action?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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