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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.
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Canto 4 · Chapter 13: Description of the Descendants of Dhruva Mahārāja
4.13.454.13.47

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.13.46

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The head priestssince 4.13.31inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

कदपत्यं वरं मन्ये सदपत्याच्छुचां पदात् ।

निर्विद्येत गृहान्मर्त्यो यत्‍क्‍लेशनिवहा गृहा: ॥ ४६ ॥

kad-apatyaṁ varaṁ manye

sad-apatyāc chucāṁ padāt

nirvidyeta gṛhān martyo

yat-kleśa-nivahā gṛhāḥ

Translation

Then the King thought: A bad son is better than a good son because a good son creates an attachment for home, whereas a bad son does not. A bad son creates a hellish home from which an intelligent man naturally becomes very easily detached.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hardship Can Help Us Become Detached

  1. 1

    King Aṅga considered his bad son an impetus for detachment from home life. In this sense, he regarded his son as a friend.

  2. 2

    Prahlāda Mahārāja compares material home life to a blind well that is difficult to escape. He advises leaving it to take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  3. 3

    Ultimately, one must learn to become detached from material life. The King therefore saw hardship at home as a boon rather than only a misfortune.

Key points from the purport
  • The King began to think in terms of attachment and detachment from one’s material home.
  • King Aṅga, therefore, thinking in terms of detachment, accepted his bad son as a good impetus for detachment from home life.
  • Ultimately one has to learn how to detach oneself from attachment to material life; therefore if a bad son, by his bad behavior, helps a householder to go away from home, it is a boon.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kad-apatyambad son
  2. varambetter
  3. manyeI think
  4. sat-apatyātthan a good son
  5. śucāmof grief
  6. padātthe source
  7. nirvidyetabecomes detached
  8. gṛhātfrom home
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

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 4.13

    In this verse: “detached”, “detachment”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.13

    In this verse: “attachment”, “material”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.13

    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 might a difficulty help me loosen material attachment and seek shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?

Practice

Spend one quiet minute praying for shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead rather than merely relief from a difficulty.

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 todayHardship Can Help Us Become DetachedThis 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 4.13.46? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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