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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 14: The Story of King Vena
4.14.424.14.44

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.14.43

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The saintly sagessince 4.14.32inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

विनिश्चित्यैवमृषयो विपन्नस्य महीपते: ।

ममन्थुरूरुं तरसा तत्रासीद्बाहुको नर: ॥ ४३ ॥

viniścityaivam ṛṣayo

vipannasya mahīpateḥ

mamanthur ūruṁ tarasā

tatrāsīd bāhuko naraḥ

Translation

After making a decision, the saintly persons and sages churned the thighs of the dead body of King Vena with great force and according to a specific method. As a result of this churning, a dwarflike person was born from King Vena’s body.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Soul Is Separate from the Body

  1. 1

    The birth of another person from King Vena’s body shows that the spirit soul is individual and separate from the body. The sages could produce another body, but they could not bring King Vena back to life.

  2. 2

    King Vena’s body had been preserved by drugs and mantras chanted by his mother. Because it belonged to the family succession of Mahārāja Dhruva, the sages were concerned with preserving its ingredients.

  3. 3

    Through the sages’ skillful process, Bāhuka’s body appeared. Life symptoms become visible when a soul takes shelter of a body.

Key points from the purport
  • The great sages and saintly persons could beget another person from the body of the dead King Vena, but it was not possible for them to bring King Vena back to life.
  • King Vena was gone, and certainly he had taken another body.
  • One should not think that it was impossible for another body to come out of the dead body of Mahārāja Vena.

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 14: The Story of King Vena

Vena rejects the sages’ advice; after his death, they seek to preserve King Aṅga’s family.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.14
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. viniścityadeciding
  2. evamthus
  3. ṛṣayaḥthe great sages
  4. vipannasyadead
  5. mahī-pateḥof the King
  6. mamanthuḥchurned
  7. ūrumthe thighs
  8. tarasāwith specific power
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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.14

    In this verse: “king”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 4.14

    In this verse: “chanted”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 4.14

    In this verse: “mother”

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 this explanation help me distinguish the living soul from the body?

Practice

Write one sentence explaining the difference between producing a body and bringing the same person back to life.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Soul Is Separate from the BodyThis 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 4.14.43? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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