1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 4 · The Creation of the Fourth Order · 31 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 2: Dakṣa Curses Lord Śiva
4.2.284.2.30

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.2.29

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.2.19inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

नष्टशौचा मूढधियो जटाभस्मास्थिधारिण: ।

विशन्तु शिवदीक्षायां यत्र दैवं सुरासवम् ॥ २९ ॥

naṣṭa-śaucā mūḍha-dhiyo

jaṭā-bhasmāsthi-dhāriṇaḥ

viśantu śiva-dīkṣāyāṁ

yatra daivaṁ surāsavam

Translation

Those who vow to worship Lord Śiva are so foolish that they imitate him by keeping long hair on their heads. When initiated into worship of Lord Śiva, they prefer to live on wine, flesh and other such things.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Regulated Living Supports Transcendental Knowledge

  1. 1

    The verse criticizes foolish imitation of Lord Śiva through outward appearance and living on wine, flesh and similar things.

  2. 2

    The purport lists intoxication, meat eating and neglect of daily bathing among habits of unregulated living. Such behavior leaves one devoid of transcendental knowledge.

  3. 3

    The purport also describes certain methods of Śiva worship that use wine or intoxicating palm juice. These descriptions do not make indulgence a substitute for transcendental knowledge.

Key points from the purport
  • Indulging in wine and meat, keeping long hair on one’s head, not bathing daily, and smoking gāñjā (marijuana) are some of the habits which are accepted by foolish creatures who do not have regulated lives.
  • In the initiation into the Śiva mantra there are mudrikāṣṭaka, in which it is sometimes recommended that one make his sitting place on the vagina and thus desire nirvāṇa, or dissolution of existence.
  • In that process of worship, wine is needed, or sometimes, in place of wine, palm tree juice which is converted into an intoxicant.

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

Humiliation and anger → Reconciliation. Relational offense leads to grief and destruction before restoration.

Chapters 1–7 of Canto 4: Dakṣa, Satī and Śiva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 2: Dakṣa Curses Lord Śiva

Dakṣa insults and curses Lord Śiva at a great sacrificial assembly.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.2
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. naṣṭa-śaucāḥcleanliness being abandoned
  2. mūḍha-dhiyaḥfoolish
  3. jaṭā-bhasma-asthi-dhāriṇaḥwearing long hair, ashes and bones
  4. viśantumay enter
  5. śiva-dīkṣāyāminto initiation of worship of Śiva
  6. yatrawhere
  7. daivamare spiritual
  8. sura-āsavamwine and liquor
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.2

    In this verse: “worship”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 4.2

    In this verse: “knowledge”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which of my daily habits supports cleanliness and a regulated life?

Practice

Make time for a bath today as one concrete act of personal cleanliness.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRegulated Living Supports Transcendental KnowledgeThis 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 4.2.29? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories