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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 13: Description of the Descendants of Dhruva Mahārāja
4.13.14.13.3

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.13.2

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vidurasince 4.13.2inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

विदुर उवाच

के ते प्रचेतसो नाम कस्यापत्यानि

सुव्रत ।

कस्यान्ववाये प्रख्याता: कुत्र वा सत्रमासत ॥ २ ॥

vidura uvāca

ke te pracetaso nāma

kasyāpatyāni suvrata

kasyānvavāye prakhyātāḥ

kutra vā satram āsata

Translation

Vidura inquired from Maitreya: O greatly advanced devotee, who were the Pracetās? To which family did they belong? Whose sons were they, and where did they perform the great sacrifices?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Hearing Inspires Further Questions

  1. 1

    Vidura respectfully approached Maitreya as a greatly advanced devotee and asked about the Pracetās.

  2. 2

    He wanted to know their family, whose sons they were, and where they performed their great sacrifices.

  3. 3

    Nārada’s singing in the sacrificial arena of the Pracetās gave Vidura further encouragement to inquire.

Key points from the purport
  • The great Nārada’s singing, in the previous chapter, of three verses in the sacrificial arena of the Pracetās gave another impetus to Vidura to ask further questions.

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

Anger and disorder → Duty and devotion. Kingship shifts from domination to stewardship and renunciation.

Chapters 13–23 of Canto 4: Vena and Pṛthu: power, the Earth and stewardship. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 13: Description of the Descendants of Dhruva Mahārāja

Dhruva’s descendants are described, followed by an account of a sonless king and the cruel boy Vena.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.13
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. viduraḥ uvācaVidura inquired
  2. kewho were
  3. tethey
  4. pracetasaḥthe Pracetās
  5. nāmaof the name
  6. kasyawhose
  7. apatyānisons
  8. su-vrataO Maitreya, who have taken an auspicious vow
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Visarga · Subcreation

    How do living beings and their worlds appear? · Subject 2 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 4.13

    In this verse: “inquired”, “inquire”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.13

    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

What sincere question has my devotional reading awakened?

Practice

Write down one question about the Pracetās to keep in mind as you continue reading.

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 4.13's connections

Live this todayDevotional Hearing Inspires Further QuestionsThis 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 4.13.2? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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