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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 19: King Pṛthu’s One Hundred Horse Sacrifices
4.19.364.19.38

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.19.37

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 4.19.35inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

भवान् परित्रातुमिहावतीर्णो

धर्मं जनानां समयानुरूपम् ।

वेनापचारादवलुप्तमद्य

तद्देहतो विष्णुकलासि वैन्य ॥ ३७ ॥

bhavān paritrātum ihāvatīrṇo

dharmaṁ janānāṁ samayānurūpam

venāpacārād avaluptam adya

tad-dehato viṣṇu-kalāsi vainya

Translation

O King Pṛthu, son of Vena, you are the part-and-parcel expansion of Lord Viṣṇu. Due to the mischievous activities of King Vena, religious principles were almost lost. At that opportune moment you descended as the incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu. Indeed, for the protection of religious principles you have appeared from the body of King Vena.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Empowers Teachers of Devotion

  1. 1

    Pṛthu appeared when King Vena’s misdeeds had almost destroyed religious principles. Lord Viṣṇu empowered him to protect those principles.

  2. 2

    Pṛthu is a śaktyāveśa-avatāra: a living entity especially invested with Lord Viṣṇu’s power. Such an empowered person teaches devotion according to the śāstras.

  3. 3

    Explaining the glories of the Lord’s holy name requires His special empowerment. Finding fault with a pure Vaiṣṇava is an offense against Lord Viṣṇu, even if the offender wears religious dress.

Key points from the purport
  • Living entities are also part and parcel of Lord Viṣṇu, but they are not as powerful; therefore when a living entity descends as an incarnation of Viṣṇu, he is especially empowered by the Lord.
  • When King Pṛthu is described as an incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu, it should be understood that he is a śaktyāveśa-avatāra, part and parcel of Lord Viṣṇu, and is specifically empowered by Him.
  • Any living being acting as the incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu is thus empowered by Lord Viṣṇu to preach the bhakti cult.

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· 2

The purport of SB 4.19.37 quotesBG 4.8

The way in which Lord Viṣṇu kills the demons and protects the faithful is mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8): “In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.”

The purport of SB 4.19.37 quotesCC Antya 7.11

As confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya 7.11), kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: one cannot explain the glories of the holy name of the Lord without being specifically empowered by Him.

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 19: King Pṛthu’s One Hundred Horse Sacrifices

Indra repeatedly takes the sacrificial horse, and Brahmā restrains Pṛthu’s anger.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.19
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. bhavānYour Majesty
  2. paritrātumjust to deliver
  3. ihain this world
  4. avatīrṇaḥincarnated
  5. dharmamreligious system
  6. janānāmof the people in general
  7. samaya-anurūpamaccording to the time and circumstances
  8. vena-apacārātby the misdeeds of King Vena
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

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 4.19

    In this verse: “religious”, “principles”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 4.19

    In this verse: “protection”, “protect”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.19

    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

Do I approach those who sincerely teach devotion with respect or with a faultfinding attitude?

Practice

Today, replace one faultfinding remark about a teacher of devotion with a respectful effort to understand the teaching.

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 4.19's connections

Live this todayThe Lord Empowers Teachers of DevotionThis 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.

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