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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
4.17.54.17.8

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 4.17.6-7

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vidurasince 4.17.3inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

यच्चान्यदपि कृष्णस्य भवान् भगवत: प्रभो: । श्रव: सुश्रवस: पुण्यं पूर्वदेहकथाश्रयम् ॥ ६ ॥ भक्ताय मेऽनुरक्ताय तव चाधोक्षजस्य च । वक्तुमर्हसि योऽदुह्यद्वैन्यरूपेण गामिमाम् ॥ ७ ॥

yac cānyad api kṛṣṇasya

bhavān bhagavataḥ prabhoḥ

śravaḥ suśravasaḥ puṇyaṁ

pūrva-deha-kathāśrayam

bhaktāya me ’nuraktāya

tava cādhokṣajasya ca

vaktum arhasi yo ’duhyad

vainya-rūpeṇa gām imām

Translation

Pṛthu Mahārāja was a powerful incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s potencies; consequently any narration concerning his activities is surely very pleasing to hear, and it produces all good fortune. As far as I am concerned, I am always your devotee as well as a devotee of the Lord, who is known as Adhokṣaja. Please therefore narrate all the stories of King Pṛthu, who, in the form of the son of King Vena, milked the cow-shaped earth.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hear About Kṛṣṇa Beyond Material Perception

  1. 1

    Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is avatārī, the source of all incarnations. Everything spiritual and material emanates from Him.

  2. 2

    Mahārāja Pṛthu manifests Kṛṣṇa’s potency for ruling over conditioned souls. Hearing about his activities is pleasing and produces all good fortune.

  3. 3

    The Lord is called Adhokṣaja because He is beyond the perception of material senses and cannot be understood by mental speculation. The request to hear about Pṛthu is made with devotion to both the speaker and the Lord.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa is also known as avatārī, which means “one from whom all the incarnations emanate.”
  • As far as this material world is concerned, Lord Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva are all emanations from Kṛṣṇa.
  • Since one can form only an impersonal idea on the strength of one’s material senses, the Lord is known as Adhokṣaja.

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 4.17.6-7 quotesBG 10.8

In Bhagavad-gītā (10.8) Lord Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds.

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 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. yatwhich
  2. caand
  3. anyatother
  4. apicertainly
  5. kṛṣṇasyaof Kṛṣṇa
  6. bhavānyour good self
  7. bhagavataḥof the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  8. prabhoḥpowerful
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.17

    In this verse: “devotee”, “devotion”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 4.17

    In this verse: “narration”, “hearing”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.17

    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

Am I approaching these narrations with devotion, rather than relying only on my own speculation?

Practice

Reread the translation attentively, remembering that Kṛṣṇa is the source of all incarnations and beyond material perception.

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 4.17's connections

Live this todayHear About Kṛṣṇa Beyond Material PerceptionThis 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 4.17.6-7? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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