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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 1 · Creation · 19 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.12.4

Who is speaking and story frame

सूत उवाच

अपीपलद्धर्मराज: पितृवद् रञ्जयन् प्रजा: ।

नि:स्पृह: सर्वकामेभ्य: कृष्णपादानुसेवया ॥ ४ ॥

sūta uvāca

apīpalad dharma-rājaḥ

pitṛvad rañjayan prajāḥ

niḥspṛhaḥ sarva-kāmebhyaḥ

kṛṣṇa-pādānusevayā

Translation

Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said: Emperor Yudhiṣṭhira administered generously to everyone during his reign. He was exactly like his father. He had no personal ambition and was freed from all sorts of sense gratification because of his continuous service unto the lotus feet of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Serving Kṛṣṇa Enables Care for Everyone

  1. 1

    Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira’s continuous devotional service to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa freed him from personal ambition and sense gratification. This service qualified him to administer the state generously.

  2. 2

    A ruler’s protection extends to every living being, including plants, birds and animals. All are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord.

  3. 3

    Yudhiṣṭhira wanted those under his care to become devotees of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Serving the Lord benefits His parts and parcels, just as watering a tree’s root nourishes its leaves.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore, a king like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, who was the personality of goodness, wanted everyone under his administration, especially human beings who have better developed consciousness, to become devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa so that everyone can become free from the trifles of material existence.
  • As an ideal king, he had no personal ambition, and there was no place for sense gratification because all his senses at all times were engaged in the loving service of the Supreme Lord, which includes the partial service to the living beings, who form the parts and parcels of the complete whole.
  • Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, therefore, was constantly engaged in the service of the Lord, and thus the parts and parcels of the Lord, the living beings under his careful administration, were perfectly attended with all comforts in this life and all progress in the next.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 1.12.4 quotesBG 14.4

Every one of them is a part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, and the king, being the representative of the Supreme Lord, is duty-bound to give proper protection to every one of them.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Longing → Joy and continuity. Departure and welcome coexist; Parīkṣit embodies continuity of grace.

Chapters 10–12 of Canto 1: Kṛṣṇa returns to Dvārakā; Parīkṣit is born. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 12: Birth of Emperor Parīkṣit

Parīkṣit’s protection in the womb is recalled, and learned brāhmaṇas predict his qualities at birth.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.12
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sūtaḥ uvācaŚrī Sūta Gosvāmī said
  2. apīpalatadministered prosperity
  3. dharma-rājaḥKing Yudhiṣṭhira
  4. pitṛ-vatexactly like his father
  5. rañjayanpleasing
  6. prajāḥall those who took birth
  7. niḥspṛhaḥwithout personal ambition
  8. sarvaall
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 1.12

    In this verse: “emperor”, “ruler’s”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 1.12

    In this verse: “sense gratification”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.12

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotees”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can service to Kṛṣṇa guide the way I care for those who depend on me?

Practice

Perform one act of care for a person, animal or plant today, remembering that each belongs to the Supreme Lord.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayServing Kṛṣṇa Enables Care for EveryoneThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 1.12.4? Get an answer from the verses themselves.