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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 21: Instructions by Mahārāja Pṛthu
4.21.264.21.28-29

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.21.27

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:King Pṛthusince 4.21.25inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

अस्ति यज्ञपतिर्नाम केषाञ्चिदर्हसत्तमा: ।

इहामुत्र च लक्ष्यन्ते ज्योत्‍स्‍नावत्य: क्‍वचिद्भुव: ॥ २७ ॥

asti yajña-patir nāma

keṣāñcid arha-sattamāḥ

ihāmutra ca lakṣyante

jyotsnāvatyaḥ kvacid bhuvaḥ

Translation

My dear respectable ladies and gentlemen, according to the authoritative statements of śāstra, there must be a supreme authority who is able to award the respective benefits of our present activities. Otherwise, why should there be persons who are unusually beautiful and powerful both in this life and in the life after death?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Worship the Supreme Lord Through Your Duties

  1. 1

    Pṛthu Mahārāja appealed to the authority of śāstra to establish a supreme authority who awards the results of action. The varieties of existence indicate the plan of a superior intelligence, not merely chance.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the original source of everything. As Paramātmā, He is also present throughout existence.

  3. 3

    The social and spiritual orders are meant to satisfy the Supreme Lord. By making one's occupational duties an act of worship, one can attain the highest perfection of life.

Key points from the purport
  • Similarly, God, or Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has the right to see that all living entities are happy.
  • The different varieties of life and of material existence do not come about by chance and necessity; they are different arrangements made by the Supreme Lord in terms of the pious and impious activities of the living entities.
  • We see, therefore, that in different places and in different planets there are different standards of life, bodily features and educational statuses, all awarded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to pious or impious activities.

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· 5

The purport of SB 4.21.27 quotesBG 18.46

In Bhagavad-gītā (18.46) it is said: “By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, man can, in the performance of his own duty, attain perfection.”

The purport of SB 4.21.27 quotesBG 16.19

The atheists, who do not, are condemned in Bhagavad-gītā (16.19) by the following statement: tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān saṁsāreṣu narādhamān.

The purport of SB 4.21.27 quotesBG 3.9

Yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ: “Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed; otherwise work binds one to this material world.”

The purport of SB 4.21.27 quotesBG 7.28

In Bhagavad-gītā (7.28) it is clearly stated: “One who has completely surpassed the resultant activities of the impious path of life [this is possible only when one engages exclusively in pious activities] can understand his eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The purport of SB 4.21.27 quotesBG 18.66

Do not fear.”. The word sarva-pāpebhyaḥ means “from all sinful activities.”

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 21: Instructions by Mahārāja Pṛthu

Pṛthu addresses an assembly about devotional service and respect for brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.21
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. astithere must be
  2. yajña-patiḥthe enjoyer of all sacrifices
  3. nāmaof the name
  4. keṣāñcitin the opinion of some
  5. arha-sattamāḥO most respectable
  6. ihain this material world
  7. amutraafter death
  8. caalso
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 4.21

    In this verse: “death”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.21

    In this verse: “worship”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 4.21

    In this verse: “duties”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How could my present work become worship rather than merely a means of personal gain?

Practice

Perform one task carefully today with the conscious intention of serving and satisfying Kṛṣṇa.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayWorship the Supreme Lord Through Your DutiesThis 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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