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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

4.21.31 4.21.33

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.21.32

Mukti· Liberation

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

विनिर्धुताशेषमनोमल: पुमा-

नसङ्गविज्ञानविशेषवीर्यवान् ।

यदङ्‌घ्रिमूले कृतकेतन: पुन-

र्न संसृतिं क्लेशवहां प्रपद्यते ॥ ३२ ॥

vinirdhutāśeṣa-mano-malaḥ pumān

asaṅga-vijñāna-viśeṣa-vīryavān

yad-aṅghri-mūle kṛta-ketanaḥ punar

na saṁsṛtiṁ kleśa-vahāṁ prapadyate

Translation

When a devotee takes shelter at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is completely cleansed of all misunderstanding or mental speculation, and he manifests renunciation. This is possible only when one is strengthened by practicing bhakti-yoga. Once having taken shelter at the root of the lotus feet of the Lord, a devotee never comes back to this material existence, which is full of the threefold miseries.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Bhakti Brings Knowledge and Freedom

1
Hearing and chanting the Lord's glories gradually cleanse the mind. Practicing bhakti-yoga removes the misunderstanding that we are our bodies.
2
Devotional service brings jñāna, understanding that we are not the body, and vairāgya, disinterest in sense gratification. Through devotion, we come to understand our own position and the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
3
Progress in bhakti-yoga can be directly perceived, just as someone eating can feel hunger being satisfied. A devotee fixed in loving service to the Lord does not return to material existence after leaving the body.

Key points from the purport

When one is strengthened by practicing bhakti-yoga, his mind is cleansed of this misunderstanding, and he is no longer interested in material existence or in sense gratification.
Thus when a devotee is fixed in the loving service of the lotus feet of the Lord, he will never come back to this material existence after quitting his body, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā by the Lord (tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna).
When thus situated, a devotee no longer has any doubts; he knows that he will not come back to this material world.

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 4.21.32 quotesBG 9.2

In Bhagavad-gītā (9.2), the science of devotional service is described as pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam, direct understanding of the principles of religion by realization.

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

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

vinirdhutabeing specifically cleansed
aśeṣaunlimited
manaḥ-malaḥmental speculation or the dirt accumulated in the mind
pumānthe person
asaṅgabeing disgusted
vijñānascientifically
viśeṣaparticularly
vīrya-vānbeing strengthened in bhakti-yoga

Key ideas in this verse

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

Mukti · Liberation
What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.21
In this verse: “devotee”, “bhakti-yoga”, “devotional service”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.21
In this verse: “material”, “sense gratification”
Śuddhi · Inner transformation
The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 4.21
In this verse: “cleansed”, “cleanse”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

As I practice devotional service, do I notice less desire to enjoy or control material things?

Practice

Chant attentively today: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayBhakti Brings Knowledge and FreedomThis 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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