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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
4.19.374.19.39

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.19.38

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
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

स त्वं विमृश्यास्य भवं प्रजापते

सङ्कल्पनं विश्वसृजां पिपीपृहि ।

ऐन्द्रीं च मायामुपधर्ममातरं

प्रचण्डपाखण्डपथं प्रभो जहि ॥ ३८ ॥

sa tvaṁ vimṛśyāsya bhavaṁ prajāpate

saṅkalpanaṁ viśva-sṛjāṁ pipīpṛhi

aindrīṁ ca māyām upadharma-mātaraṁ

pracaṇḍa-pākhaṇḍa-pathaṁ prabho jahi

Translation

O protector of the people in general, please consider the purpose of your being incarnated by Lord Viṣṇu. The irreligious principles created by Indra are but mothers of so many unwanted religions. Please therefore stop these imitations immediately.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Remember Your Responsibility Beyond Rivalry

  1. 1

    Lord Brahmā reminded Pṛthu of his responsibility to maintain the citizens’ peace and prosperity. The Supreme Personality of Godhead had empowered him for this purpose.

  2. 2

    An ideal king should support proper religious principles and stop pseudoreligious systems. Genuine religious principles come from the Supreme Personality of Godhead through disciplic succession.

  3. 3

    Pṛthu was asked to abandon unnecessary competition with Indra. Establishing good government and putting things in order mattered more than completing one hundred sacrifices.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Brahmā addresses King Pṛthu as prajāpate just to remind him of his great responsibility in maintaining the peace and prosperity of the citizens.
  • Lord Brahmā especially requested King Pṛthu to conquer the pseudoreligious principles produced by King Indra.
  • Lord Brahmā requested Pṛthu Mahārāja to desist from his unnecessary competition with Indra, who was determined to stop Pṛthu Mahārāja from completing one hundred yajñas.

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 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. saḥthe aforesaid
  2. tvamyou
  3. vimṛśyaconsidering
  4. asyaof the world
  5. bhavamexistence
  6. prajā-pateO protector of the people
  7. saṅkalpanamthe determination
  8. viśva-sṛjāmof the progenitors of the world
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

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

    In this verse: “religions”, “principles”, “religious”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.19

    In this verse: “king”, “government”, “citizens’”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 4.19

    In this verse: “mothers”

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

Is a personal rivalry distracting me from a responsibility entrusted to me?

Practice

Identify one neglected responsibility and take a small step toward fulfilling it today, without comparing yourself with anyone.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRemember Your Responsibility Beyond RivalryThis 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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