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

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Canto 12 · The Age of Deterioration · 13 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 ›
Canto 12 · Chapter 4: The Four Categories of Universal Annihilation
12.4.3012.4.32

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.4.31

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 12.4.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यथा हिरण्यं बहुधा समीयते

नृभि: क्रियाभिर्व्यवहारवर्त्मसु ।

एवं वचोभिर्भगवानधोक्षजो

व्याख्यायते लौकिकवैदिकैर्जनै: ॥ ३१ ॥

yathā hiraṇyaṁ bahudhā samīyate

nṛbhiḥ kriyābhir vyavahāra-vartmasu

evaṁ vacobhir bhagavān adhokṣajo

vyākhyāyate laukika-vaidikair janaiḥ

Translation

According to their different purposes, men utilize gold in various ways, and gold is therefore perceived in various forms. In the same way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is inaccessible to material senses, is described in various terms, both ordinary and Vedic, by different types of men.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Receive the Lord’s Own Description

  1. 1

    Gold takes various forms according to people’s purposes. Similarly, people describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead in different ordinary and Vedic terms, although He is inaccessible to material senses.

  2. 2

    Those who are not pure devotees try to exploit the Lord and His energies. Their descriptions of the Absolute Truth reflect their strategies of exploitation.

  3. 3

    In Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Absolute Truth presents Himself as He actually is. These teachings benefit sincere people who seek devotional service rather than conceptually manipulating the Supreme Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • All those who are not pure devotees of the Supreme Lord are basically trying to exploit the Lord and His energies.
  • According to their strategy of exploitation, they conceive of and describe the Absolute Truth in various ways.
  • In Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the Absolute Truth presents Himself as He actually is for the benefit of sincere people who do not foolishly try to conceptually manipulate the Supreme Godhead.

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

How it feels

Civilizational dread → Dispassion. Social and cosmic impermanence expose the limits of worldly plans.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 12: The deterioration of Kali and universal dissolution. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 4: The Four Categories of Universal Annihilation

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Material life means subjugation to birth and death, or generation and annihilation. The only boat suitable for crossing the ocean of material existence, which is otherwise impossible to cross, is the boat of submissive hearing of the nectarean pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yathājust as
  2. hiraṇyamgold
  3. bahudhāin many forms
  4. samīyateappears
  5. nṛbhiḥto men
  6. kriyābhiḥin terms of different functions
  7. vyavahāra-vartmasuin ordinary usage
  8. evamsimilarly
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 12.4

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 12.4

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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 12.4

    In this verse: “absolute truth”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Are you trying to receive the Lord’s teaching sincerely, or shape it around your own purposes?

Practice

Reread this verse with the intention to understand the Lord as He presents Himself, rather than use Him for your own purposes.

Live this todayReceive the Lord’s Own DescriptionThis 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 12.4.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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