Text 33

Text

dvau sammatāv iha mṛtyū durāpau
yad brahma-sandhāraṇayā jitāsuḥ
kalevaraṁ yoga-rato vijahyād
yad agraṇīr vīra-śaye ‘nivṛttaḥ

Synonyms

dvau—two; sammatau—approved (by śāstra and great personalities); iha—in this world; mrtyu—deaths; durāpau—extremely rare; yat—which; brahma-sandhāraṇayā—with concentration on Brahman, Paramātmā or Parabrahma, Kṛṣṇa; jita-asuh—controlling the mind and senses; kalevaram—the body; yoga-ratah—being engaged in the performance of yoga; vijahyāt—one may leave; yat—which; agranih—taking the lead; vīra-śaye—on the battlefield; anivrttah—not turning back. 

Translation

There are two ways to meet a glorious death, and both are very rare. One is to die after performing mystic yoga, especially bhakti-yoga, by which one can control the mind and living force and die absorbed in thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The second is to die on the battlefield, leading the army and never showing one’s back. These two kinds of death are recommended in the śāstra as glorious. 

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Sixth Canto, Tenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Battle Between the Demigods and Vṛtrāsura.” 

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