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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
4.11.264.11.28

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.11.27

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

तमेव मृत्युममृतं तात दैवं

सर्वात्मनोपेहि जगत्परायणम् ।

यस्मै बलिं विश्वसृजो हरन्ति

गावो यथा वै नसि दामयन्त्रिता: ॥ २७ ॥

tam eva mṛtyum amṛtaṁ tāta daivaṁ

sarvātmanopehi jagat-parāyaṇam

yasmai baliṁ viśva-sṛjo haranti

gāvo yathā vai nasi dāma-yantritāḥ

Translation

My dear boy Dhruva, please surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the ultimate goal of the progress of the world. Everyone, including the demigods headed by Lord Brahmā, is working under His control, just as a bull, prompted by a rope in its nose, is controlled by its owner.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Surrender Without Personal Ambition

  1. 1

    Material existence begins when we forget the supreme controller and wish to lord it over nature. Everyone, including the demigods headed by Lord Brahmā, works under His control.

  2. 2

    Svāyambhuva Manu urged Dhruva Mahārāja to surrender in all respects without keeping personal ambition. His wish to annihilate the Yakṣas was a remaining trace of false ambition.

  3. 3

    The Lord is death for demons and eternal life for devotees. Those who continuously serve Him continue their service beyond this life, exchanging material bodies for spiritual bodies.

Key points from the purport
  • The material disease is to declare independence from the supreme controller.
  • Factually, our material existence begins when we forget the supreme controller and wish to lord it over material nature.
  • The Lord, therefore, is simultaneously death and immortality.

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. tamunto Him
  2. evacertainly
  3. mṛtyumdeath
  4. amṛtamimmortality
  5. tātamy dear son
  6. daivamthe Supreme
  7. sarva-ātmanāin all respects
  8. upehisurrender
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

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 4.11

    In this verse: “surrender”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotees”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.11

    In this verse: “material”

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 personal ambition makes it difficult for me to accept the Lord’s control?

Practice

Identify one controlling impulse today and pray for help to serve the Lord instead of pursuing that ambition.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySurrender Without Personal AmbitionThis 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.

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