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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
4.11.214.11.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.11.22

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Manusince 4.11.16inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

केचित्कर्म वदन्त्येनं स्वभावमपरे नृप ।

एके कालं परे दैवं पुंस: काममुतापरे ॥ २२ ॥

kecit karma vadanty enaṁ

svabhāvam apare nṛpa

eke kālaṁ pare daivaṁ

puṁsaḥ kāmam utāpare

Translation

The differentiation among varieties of life and their suffering and enjoyment is explained by some to be the result of karma. Others say it is due to nature, others due to time, others due to fate, and still others say that it is due to desire.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Purify Desire Through Devotional Service

  1. 1

    Living entities are eternal servants of God, but they become attracted by the desire to lord it over material nature. Forgetting their relationship with Him, they act and experience the results.

  2. 2

    Desire cannot be annihilated, because it is a symptom of the living entity. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura advises turning desire toward serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  3. 3

    Desire becomes purified when employed in devotional service. This purification frees one from material contamination and ends wandering through different forms and conditions.

Key points from the purport
  • The real conclusion is that it is our work only that binds us within this material world in different varieties of life.
  • How these varieties have sprung up is explained in the Vedas: it is due to the desire of the living entity.
  • The living entity is not a dead stone; he has different varieties of desire, or kāma.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kecitsome
  2. karmafruitive activities
  3. vadantiexplain
  4. enamthat
  5. svabhāvamnature
  6. apareothers
  7. nṛpamy dear King Dhruva
  8. ekesome
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

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

    In this verse: “purified”, “contamination”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 4.11

    In this verse: “suffering”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.11

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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

What desire could I redirect from controlling or enjoying toward serving the Lord?

Practice

Write down one desire and one small way to use it in the Lord’s service today.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPurify Desire Through Devotional ServiceThis 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 4.11.22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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