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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.
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Canto 4 · Chapter 21: Instructions by Mahārāja Pṛthu
4.21.324.21.34

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.21.33

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
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

तमेव यूयं भजतात्मवृत्तिभि-

र्मनोवच:कायगुणै: स्वकर्मभि: ।

अमायिन: कामदुघाङ्‌घ्रिपङ्कजं

यथाधिकारावसितार्थसिद्धय: ॥ ३३ ॥

tam eva yūyaṁ bhajatātma-vṛttibhir

mano-vacaḥ-kāya-guṇaiḥ sva-karmabhiḥ

amāyinaḥ kāma-dughāṅghri-paṅkajaṁ

yathādhikārāvasitārtha-siddhayaḥ

Translation

Pṛthu Mahārāja advised his citizens: Engaging your minds, your words, your bodies and the results of your occupational duties, and being always open-minded, you should all render devotional service to the Lord. According to your abilities and the occupations in which you are situated, you should engage your service at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full confidence and without reservation. Then you will surely be successful in achieving the final objective in your lives.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Serve Kṛṣṇa Through Your Daily Duties

  1. 1

    One should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead through one's occupational duties, according to one's abilities. The common aim of all duties is to satisfy Him.

  2. 2

    Engage the mind in thinking of Kṛṣṇa, words in prayers or speaking His glories, and the body in His service. The results of one's work should also be engaged in devotional service.

  3. 3

    Social position does not disqualify anyone from success in devotional service. By being sincere, open, and free from duplicity, and working under a proper spiritual master's guidance, anyone can achieve the highest success.

Key points from the purport
  • Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: “The four castes (the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras) are created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to the material modes of nature and the particular duties discharged in those modes.”
  • In this way, a kṣatriya can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his occupational duties.
  • Everyone’s aim should be to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by engaging his mind in thinking always of Kṛṣṇa, his words in always offering prayers to the Lord or preaching about the glories of the Lord, and his body in executing the service required to satisfy the Lord.

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 4.21.33 quotesBG 9.32

As confirmed by the Lord Himself, striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim.

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. tamunto Him
  2. evacertainly
  3. yūyamall you citizens
  4. bhajataworship
  5. ātmaown
  6. vṛttibhiḥoccupational duty
  7. manaḥmind
  8. vacaḥwords
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

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

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

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

    In this verse: “duties”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.21

    In this verse: “citizens”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I make one ordinary duty an act of sincere service to Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Choose one duty today and carry it out carefully, remembering that your aim is to satisfy Kṛṣṇa.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayServe Kṛṣṇa Through Your Daily 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.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 4.21.33? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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