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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
4.12.74.12.9

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.12.8

Mukti· Liberation
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

मैत्रेय उवाच

स राजराजेन वराय चोदितो

ध्रुवो महाभागवतो महामति: ।

हरौ स वव्रेऽचलितां स्मृतिं यया

तरत्ययत्नेन दुरत्ययं तम: ॥ ८ ॥

maitreya uvāca

sa rāja-rājena varāya codito

dhruvo mahā-bhāgavato mahā-matiḥ

harau sa vavre ’calitāṁ smṛtiṁ yayā

taraty ayatnena duratyayaṁ tamaḥ

Translation

The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, when thus asked to accept a benediction from Kuvera the Yakṣarāja [King of the Yakṣas], Dhruva Mahārāja, that most elevated pure devotee, who was an intelligent and thoughtful king, begged that he might have unflinching faith in and remembrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for thus a person can cross over the ocean of nescience very easily, although it is very difficult for others to cross.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Choose Remembrance Above Riches and Liberation

  1. 1

    Dhruva Mahārāja asked for unflinching faith in and remembrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such remembrance enables one to cross the otherwise difficult ocean of ignorance.

  2. 2

    Constant remembrance and devotional service surpass even liberation. This higher goal is called pañcama-puruṣārtha, before which liberation becomes insignificant to the devotee.

  3. 3

    Dhruva showed great intelligence by declining the riches Kuvera could offer. His choice shows that taking to devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, requires real intelligence.

Key points from the purport
  • Dhruva Mahārāja was also a mahā-bhāgavata, or a first-class pure devotee, and his intelligence was very great (mahā-matiḥ).
  • Naturally, anyone who is a first-class devotee must be a first-class intelligent person and therefore not interested in any kind of benediction within this material world.
  • Dhruva Mahārāja was offered a benediction by the king of the kings.

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. maitreyaḥ uvācathe great sage Maitreya said
  2. saḥhe
  3. rāja-rājenaby the king of kings (Kuvera)
  4. varāyafor a benediction
  5. coditaḥbeing asked
  6. dhruvaḥDhruva Mahārāja
  7. mahā-bhāgavataḥa first-class pure devotee
  8. mahā-matiḥmost intelligent or thoughtful
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotee”, “devotional service”

  • 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

What does my most cherished wish reveal about the goal I am choosing?

Practice

Offer a short prayer today for unflinching faith in and remembrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayChoose Remembrance Above Riches and LiberationThis 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 4.12.8? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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