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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 20: Lord Viṣṇu’s Appearance in the Sacrificial Arena of Mahārāja Pṛthu
4.20.294.20.31

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.20.30

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.20.17inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

मन्ये गिरं ते जगतां विमोहिनीं

वरं वृणीष्वेति भजन्तमात्थ यत् ।

वाचा नु तन्त्या यदि ते जनोऽसित:

कथं पुन: कर्म करोति मोहित: ॥ ३० ॥

manye giraṁ te jagatāṁ vimohinīṁ

varaṁ vṛṇīṣveti bhajantam āttha yat

vācā nu tantyā yadi te jano ’sitaḥ

kathaṁ punaḥ karma karoti mohitaḥ

Translation

My dear Lord, what You have said to Your unalloyed devotee is certainly very much bewildering. The allurements You offer in the Vedas are certainly not suitable for pure devotees. People in general, bound by the sweet words of the Vedas, engage themselves again and again in fruitive activities, enamored by the results of their actions.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Choose Devotional Service Over Material Rewards

  1. 1

    The promises of material rewards can bind people to fruitive activities, or actions done for their results. Such rewards keep them searching for happiness life after life.

  2. 2

    As an eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, the living entity’s immediate business is devotional service. A pure devotee is not interested in material enjoyment or liberation.

  3. 3

    The Lord knows that material facilities will not make His devotee happy. He may take away such facilities so that the devotee will completely surrender unto Him.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, a great ācārya of the Gauḍīya sampradāya, has said that persons who are very much attached to the fruitive activities of the Vedas, namely karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa, are certainly doomed.
  • In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta the Lord therefore says that a sincere devotee who is not very intelligent may ask some material benefit from the Lord, but the Lord, being omniscient, does not generally give material rewards but, on the contrary, takes away whatever material facilities are being enjoyed by His devotee, so that ultimately the devotee will completely surrender unto Him.
  • Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (2.42) the Lord says, yām imāṁ puṣpitāṁ vācaṁ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ: the less intelligent class of men (avipaścitaḥ), attracted by the flowery language of the Vedas, engage in fruitive activities to become materially benefited.

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 4.20.30 quotesBG 2.42

Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (2.42) the Lord says, yām imāṁ puṣpitāṁ vācaṁ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ: the less intelligent class of men (avipaścitaḥ), attracted by the flowery language of the Vedas, engage in fruitive activities to become materially benefited.

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 20: Lord Viṣṇu’s Appearance in the Sacrificial Arena of Mahārāja Pṛthu

Lord Viṣṇu appears with Indra, instructs Pṛthu, and receives his worship and devotional prayers.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.20
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. manyeI consider
  2. giramwords
  3. teYour
  4. jagatāmto the material world
  5. vimohinīmbewildering
  6. varambenediction
  7. vṛṇīṣvajust accept
  8. itiin this way
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 4.20

    In this verse: “devotee”, “devotional service”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 4.20

    In this verse: “sweet”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.20

    In this verse: “material”

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 seeking the Lord’s service, or mainly hoping that He will improve my material situation?

Practice

Offer a short prayer asking for devotional service rather than a material reward.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayChoose Devotional Service Over Material RewardsThis 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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