FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.14.43

विनिश्चित्यैवमृषयो विपन्नस्य महीपते: । ममन्थुरूरुं तरसा तत्रासीद्बाहुको नर: ॥ ४३ ॥
viniścityaivam ṛṣayo
[vinishchityaivam rishayo]
vipannasya mahīpateḥ
[vipannasya maheepateh]
mamanthur ūruṁ tarasā
[mamanthur oorum tarasaa]
tatrāsīd bāhuko naraḥ
[tatraaseed baahuko narah]
viniścitya — deciding evam — thus ṛṣayaḥ — the great sages vipannasya — dead mahī-pateḥ — of the King mamanthuḥ — churned ūrum — the thighs tarasā — with specific power tatra — thereupon āsīt — was born bāhukaḥ — of the name Bāhuka (dwarf) naraḥ — a person.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
viniścityaivam ṛṣayo
viniścitya
deciding
evam
thus
ṛṣayaḥ
the great sages
vipannasya mahīpateḥ
vipannasya
dead
mahī-pateḥ
of the King
mamanthur ūruṁ tarasā
mamanthuḥ
churned
ūrum
the thighs
tarasā
with specific power
tatrāsīd bāhuko naraḥ
tatra
thereupon
āsīt
was born
bāhukaḥ
of the name Bāhuka (dwarf)
naraḥ
a person.
After making a decision, the saintly persons and sages churned the thighs of the dead body of King Vena with great force and according to a specific method. As a result of this churning, a dwarflike person was born from King Vena’s body.

That a person was born by the churning of the thighs of King Vena proves that the spirit soul is individual and separate from the body. The great sages and saintly persons could beget another person from the body of the dead King Vena, but it was not possible for them to bring King Vena back to life. King Vena was gone, and certainly he had taken another body. The saintly persons and sages were only concerned with the body of Vena because it was a result of the seminal succession in the family of Mahārāja Dhruva. Consequently, the ingredients by which another body could be produced were there in the body of King Vena. By a certain process, when the thighs of the dead body were churned, another body came out. Although dead, the body of King Vena was preserved by drugs and by mantras chanted by King Vena’s mother. In this way the ingredients for the production of another body were there. When the body of the person named Bāhuka came out of the dead body of King Vena, it was really not very astonishing. It was simply a question of knowing how to do it. From the semen of one body, another body is produced, and the life symptoms are visible due to the soul’s taking shelter of this body. One should not think that it was impossible for another body to come out of the dead body of Mahārāja Vena. This was performed by the skillful action of the sages.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Deciding thus, the sages swiftly churned the thigh of the dead king. A dwarf appeared. Bāhukaḥ means a dwarf. First the mother’s portion (adharma) was separated and extracted from the body.
They churned Vena's thighs by a specific method, producing a dwarflike person — proof that the soul is distinct from the body. The soul of the lineage can be re-extracted even from a corrupted vessel.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I treating a corrupted vessel as if no soul can be extracted from its remains?
  • What aspect of my own lineage might still yield value if 'churned' properly?
📝 My note

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