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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
4.12.384.12.40

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.12.39

Sthāna· The universe in order
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.12.39inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

गम्भीरवेगोऽनिमिषं ज्योतिषां चक्रमाहितम् ।

यस्मिन् भ्रमति कौरव्य मेढ्यामिव गवां गण: ॥ ३९ ॥

gambhīra-vego ’nimiṣaṁ

jyotiṣāṁ cakram āhitam

yasmin bhramati kauravya

meḍhyām iva gavāṁ gaṇaḥ

Translation

Saint Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, descendant of Kuru, as a herd of bulls circumambulates a central pole on their right side, all the luminaries within the universal sky unceasingly circumambulate the abode of Dhruva Mahārāja with great force and speed.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Exalted Position of the Lord’s Devotee

  1. 1

    The verse describes the luminaries unceasingly circling Dhruva Mahārāja’s abode with great force and speed, like bulls circling a central pole.

  2. 2

    The purport explains that the planets have their specific orbits and together encircle Dhruvaloka. The sun is considered the eye of Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  3. 3

    Dhruva Mahārāja’s position helps us appreciate how exalted a devotee can be. The position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is beyond our conception.

Key points from the purport
  • Each and every planet within the universe travels at a very high speed.
  • From a statement in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is understood that even the sun travels sixteen thousand miles in a second, and from Brahma-saṁhitā we understand from the śloka beginning yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇām that the sun is considered to be the eye of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, and it also has a specific orbit within which it circles.
  • We can only imagine how highly exalted the actual position of a devotee is, and certainly we cannot even conceive how exalted is the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. gambhīra-vegaḥwith great force and speed
  2. animiṣamunceasingly
  3. jyotiṣāmof luminaries
  4. cakramsphere
  5. āhitamconnected
  6. yasminaround which
  7. bhramatiencircles
  8. kauravyaO Vidura
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sthāna · Planetary systems

    How is the universe arranged, and what is our right place in it? · Subject 3 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotee”

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 exalted position deepen my appreciation of the Lord’s greatness?

Practice

Reread the verse slowly and reflect for a moment on the greatness of the Lord and His devotee.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.12's connections

Live this todayThe Exalted Position of the Lord’s DevoteeThis 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 4.12.39? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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