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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 17: Mahārāja Pṛthu Becomes Angry at the Earth
4.17.344.17.36

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.17.35

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The planet earthsince 4.17.30inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

अपामुपस्थे मयि नाव्यवस्थिता:

प्रजा भवानद्य रिरक्षिषु: किल ।

स वीरमूर्ति: समभूद्धराधरो

यो मां पयस्युग्रशरो जिघांससि ॥ ३५ ॥

apām upasthe mayi nāvy avasthitāḥ

prajā bhavān adya rirakṣiṣuḥ kila

sa vīra-mūrtiḥ samabhūd dharā-dharo

yo māṁ payasy ugra-śaro jighāṁsasi

Translation

My dear Lord, in this way You once protected me by rescuing me from the water, and consequently Your name has been famous as Dharādhara — He who holds the planet earth. Yet at the present moment, in the form of a great hero, You are about to kill me with sharpened arrows. I am, however, just like a boat on the water, keeping everything afloat.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Acts May Seem Contradictory

  1. 1

    The Lord is known as Dharādhara, He who holds the planet earth. As the boar incarnation, He kept the earth on His tusks.

  2. 2

    The earth, in the shape of a cow, recalls that He once rescued her but now threatens her with sharpened arrows. She compares herself to a boat on water, keeping living beings afloat.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s activities cannot be understood by our limited knowledge. Because of this limitation, human beings sometimes think His activities contradictory.

Key points from the purport
  • The Lord is known as Dharādhara, meaning “He who keeps the planet earth on His tusks as the boar incarnation.”
  • Thus the planet earth in the shape of a cow is accounting the contradictory acts of the Lord.
  • Although He once saved the earth, He now wants to upset the earth, which is like a boat on water.

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 17: Mahārāja Pṛthu Becomes Angry at the Earth

Pṛthu pursues the cow-shaped earth, who offers prayers and appeals to his mercy.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.17
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. apāmof the water
  2. upasthesituated on the surface
  3. mayiin me
  4. nāviin a boat
  5. avasthitāḥstanding
  6. prajāḥliving entities
  7. bhavānYourself
  8. adyanow
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 4.17

    In this verse: “protected”, “rescued”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 4.17

    In this verse: “knowledge”

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

When the Lord’s activities seem contradictory to me, can I acknowledge the limits of my understanding?

Practice

Reread the earth’s prayer once, pausing to acknowledge that your present understanding of the Lord’s activities is limited.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Acts May Seem ContradictoryThis 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 4.17.35? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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