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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 12: Dhruva Mahārāja Goes Back to Godhead
4.12.224.12.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.12.23

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.12.8inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

सुनन्दनन्दावूचतु:

भो भो राजन्सुभद्रं ते वाचं नोऽवहित: श‍ृणु ।

य: पञ्चवर्षस्तपसा भवान्देवमतीतृपत् ॥ २३ ॥

sunanda-nandāv ūcatuḥ

bho bho rājan subhadraṁ te

vācaṁ no ’vahitaḥ śṛṇu

yaḥ pañca-varṣas tapasā

bhavān devam atītṛpat

Translation

Nanda and Sunanda, the two confidential associates of Lord Viṣṇu, said: Dear King, let there be all good fortune unto you. Please attentively hear what we shall say. When you were only five years old, you underwent severe austerities, and you thereby greatly satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Training Can Begin in Childhood

  1. 1

    Nanda and Sunanda asked Dhruva Mahārāja to listen attentively. They recalled how his austerities at only five years old had greatly satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  2. 2

    What was possible for Dhruva Mahārāja is possible for anyone. Children can be trained from the age of five and make their lives successful through Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

  3. 3

    Śrīla Prabhupāda calls for educational institutions that train children to become devotees of the Lord. Such devotional education can change the face of the world.

Key points from the purport
  • It is necessary for the leaders of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement to start educational institutions in different parts of the world to train children, starting at the age of five years.
  • Thus such children will not become hippies or spoiled children of society; rather, they can all become devotees of the Lord.
  • The face of the world will then change automatically.

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 12: Dhruva Mahārāja Goes Back to Godhead

Dhruva stops fighting, continues devotional service, leaves his kingdom, and goes back to Godhead.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.12
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sunanda-nandau ūcatuḥSunanda and Nanda said
  2. bhoḥ bhoḥ rājanO dear King
  3. su-bhadramgood fortune
  4. teunto you
  5. vācamwords
  6. naḥour
  7. avahitaḥattentively
  8. śṛṇuhear
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 4.12

    In this verse: “nanda”, “children”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.12

    In this verse: “devotional”, “devotees”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.12

    In this verse: “king”

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 does Dhruva Mahārāja’s example affect my view of children’s capacity for devotional life?

Practice

Write down one simple way to make learning about Kṛṣṇa welcoming for a young child.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Training Can Begin in ChildhoodThis 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 4.12.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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