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

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Canto 4 · The Creation of the Fourth Order · 31 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 4 · Chapter 11: Svāyambhuva Manu Advises Dhruva Mahārāja to Stop Fighting
4.11.164.11.18

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.11.17

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Manusince 4.11.16inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

निमित्तमात्रं तत्रासीन्निर्गुण: पुरुषर्षभ: ।

व्यक्ताव्यक्तमिदं विश्वं यत्र भ्रमति लोहवत् ॥ १७ ॥

nimitta-mātraṁ tatrāsīn

nirguṇaḥ puruṣarṣabhaḥ

vyaktāvyaktam idaṁ viśvaṁ

yatra bhramati lohavat

Translation

My dear Dhruva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is uncontaminated by the material modes of nature. He is the remote cause of the creation of this material cosmic manifestation. When He gives the impetus, many other causes and effects are produced, and thus the whole universe moves, just as iron moves by the integrated force of a magnet.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Cause of All Causes

  1. 1

    Behind material action and reaction stands Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He gives the original impetus, just as a potter sets a wheel in motion.

  2. 2

    The Lord sets up material creation through His energy but remains aloof from its actions and reactions. He never becomes contaminated by the material modes.

  3. 3

    Different bodies arise according to the soul’s desires and karmic activities. Material interactions have many causes and effects, but their original cause is Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Key points from the purport
  • How the external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead works within this material world is explained in this verse.
  • The atheistic philosophers, who do not agree to accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the original cause of creation, think that the material world moves by the action and reaction of different material elements.
  • Varieties of phenomena occur within this universe on account of the actions and reactions of the three material modes, but the original creator, or the cause, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is mentioned here as nimitta-mātram, the remote cause.

Śrīla Prabhupāda'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

Rejection → Transformed aspiration. A child's wounded pride is purified by divine encounter.

Chapters 8–12 of Canto 4: Dhruva seeks and encounters the Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 11: Svāyambhuva Manu Advises Dhruva Mahārāja to Stop Fighting

Svāyambhuva Manu urges Dhruva to stop killing innocent Yakṣas and turn his attention to the Supreme Lord.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.11
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nimitta-mātramremote cause
  2. tatrathen
  3. āsītwas
  4. nirguṇaḥuncontaminated
  5. puruṣa-ṛṣabhaḥthe Supreme Person
  6. vyaktamanifested
  7. avyaktamunmanifested
  8. idamthis
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 4.11

    In this verse: “material”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 4.11

    In this verse: “contaminated”

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

When I notice material causes, do I also remember their original cause, Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Reflect briefly on the potter and wheel example, remembering Kṛṣṇa as the original cause behind material activity.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the Cause of All CausesThis 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 4.11.17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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