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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 18: Pṛthu Mahārāja Milks the Earth Planet
4.18.224.18.25

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 4.18.23-24

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.18.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

पशवो यवसं क्षीरं वत्सं कृत्वा च गोवृषम् ।

अरण्यपात्रे चाधुक्षन्मृगेन्द्रेण च दंष्ट्रिण: ॥ २३ ॥

क्रव्यादा: प्राणिन: क्रव्यं दुदुहु: स्वे कलेवरे ।

सुपर्णवत्सा विहगाश्चरं चाचरमेव च ॥ २४ ॥

paśavo yavasaṁ kṣīraṁ

vatsaṁ kṛtvā ca go-vṛṣam

araṇya-pātre cādhukṣan

mṛgendreṇa ca daṁṣṭriṇaḥ

kravyādāḥ prāṇinaḥ kravyaṁ

duduhuḥ sve kalevare

suparṇa-vatsā vihagāś

caraṁ cācaram eva ca

Translation

The four-legged animals like the cows made a calf out of the bull who carries Lord Śiva and made a milking pot out of the forest. Thus they got fresh green grasses to eat. Ferocious animals like tigers transformed a lion into a calf, and thus they were able to get flesh for milk. The birds made a calf out of Garuḍa and took milk from the planet earth in the form of moving insects and nonmoving plants and grasses.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Different Creatures Receive Different Foods

  1. 1

    The cows and other four-legged animals received fresh green grasses, while ferocious animals received flesh. Their forms of milk differed according to their food.

  2. 2

    The birds made Garuḍa their calf and received both moving insects and nonmoving plants and grasses.

  3. 3

    The purport explains that some birds eat other animals, while many eat only fruits and berries. Moving and nonmoving foods are both included in the verse.

Key points from the purport
  • There are many carnivorous birds descended from Garuḍa, the winged carrier of Lord Viṣṇu.
  • Of course, many birds eat only fruits and berries.
  • Therefore the words caram, referring to moving animals, and acaram, referring to grasses, fruits and vegetables, are mentioned in this verse.

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 18: Pṛthu Mahārāja Milks the Earth Planet

Pṛthu and others milk the earth; he provides citizens with food, employment, and places to live.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.18
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. paśavaḥcattle
  2. yavasamgreen grasses
  3. kṣīrammilk
  4. vatsamthe calf
  5. kṛtvāmaking
  6. caalso
  7. go-vṛṣamthe bull carrier of Lord Śiva
  8. araṇya-pātrein the pot of the forest
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

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

What does this variety of foods help me notice about the different needs of living creatures?

Practice

Observe a bird or animal today and notice the kind of food it eats.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDifferent Creatures Receive Different FoodsThis 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 4.18.23-24? Get an answer from the verses themselves.