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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 16: Praise of King Pṛthu by the Professional Reciters
4.16.184.16.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.16.19

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The reciterssince 4.16.10inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

अयं तु साक्षाद्भगवांस्त्र्यधीश:कूटस्थ आत्मा कलयावतीर्ण: । यस्मिन्नविद्यारचितं निरर्थकंपश्यन्ति नानात्वमपि प्रतीतम् ॥ १९ ॥

ayaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavāṁs try-adhīśaḥ

kūṭa-stha ātmā kalayāvatīrṇaḥ

yasminn avidyā-racitaṁ nirarthakaṁ

paśyanti nānātvam api pratītam

Translation

This King is the master of the three worlds, and he is directly empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is without change, and he is an incarnation of the Supreme known as a śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Being a liberated soul and completely learned, he sees all material varieties as meaningless because their basic principle is nescience.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

See the Soul Beyond Bodily Differences

  1. 1

    Pṛthu Mahārāja is a śaktyāveśa-avatāra, directly empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He could fully display the Lord’s six opulences and possessed incomparable excellent qualities.

  2. 2

    A nitya-mukta never forgets his position as the Supreme Lord’s eternal servant. Pṛthu remained unchanged in this spiritual position.

  3. 3

    A learned person sees the pure soul within different bodies, just as one sees a person beneath different clothes. Bodily differences arise from ignorance and do not define the soul.

Key points from the purport
  • Being an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mahārāja Pṛthu could not be equaled in his excellent qualities.
  • Thus the nitya-mukta living entity knows that he is an expansion of the supreme nitya, or the eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Being a śaktyāveśa-avatāra, empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Pṛthu Mahārāja did not change his spiritual position, and consequently there was no possibility of his viewing the material world as reality.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 4.16.19 quotesBG 5.18

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.18): “The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].”

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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 16: Praise of King Pṛthu by the Professional Reciters

Reciters describe Pṛthu’s future protection of citizens, service to devotees, and meeting with Sanat-kumāra.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ayamthis King
  2. tuthen
  3. sākṣātdirectly
  4. bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  5. tri-adhīśaḥthe master of the three planetary systems
  6. kūṭa-sthaḥwithout any change
  7. ātmāthe Supersoul
  8. kalayāby a partial plenary expansion
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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.16

    In this verse: “king”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.16

    In this verse: “material”

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 would remembering my position as the Lord’s servant change the way I see others?

Practice

When meeting someone today, consciously look beyond their appearance and remember the soul within.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySee the Soul Beyond Bodily DifferencesThis 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 4.16.19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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