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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 22: Pṛthu Mahārāja’s Meeting with the Four Kumāras
4.22.194.22.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.22.20

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sanat-kumārasince 4.22.20inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

अस्त्येव राजन् भवतो मधुद्विष:

पादारविन्दस्य गुणानुवादने ।

रतिर्दुरापा विधुनोति नैष्ठिकी

कामं कषायं मलमन्तरात्मन: ॥ २० ॥

asty eva rājan bhavato madhudviṣaḥ

pādāravindasya guṇānuvādane

ratir durāpā vidhunoti naiṣṭhikī

kāmaṁ kaṣāyaṁ malam antar-ātmanaḥ

Translation

Sanat-kumāra continued: My dear King, you already have an inclination to glorify the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such attachment is very difficult to achieve, but when one has attained such unflinching faith in the Lord, it automatically cleanses lusty desires from the core of the heart.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hearing the Lord’s Glories Cleanses the Heart

  1. 1

    By association with devotees, desires for material enjoyment are gradually washed from the heart by the Lord’s grace. The purport compares this cleansing to polishing silver.

  2. 2

    Association with pure devotees awakens the soul to its constitutional position as the eternal servant of the Lord.

  3. 3

    Hearing and chanting the Lord’s glories cleanses material contamination that karma, jñāna and yoga cannot remove. Taking shelter of His lotus feet through devotional service removes these impurities.

Key points from the purport
  • By association with devotees, dirty things within the heart of a materialistic man are gradually washed away by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Pṛthu Mahārāja was already a self-realized soul; therefore he had a natural inclination to glorify the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Kumāras assured him that there was no chance of his falling victim to the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord.
  • By the process of karma, jñāna and yoga, no one will succeed in driving away contamination from the heart, but once a person takes to the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord by devotional service, automatically all dirty things in the heart are removed without difficulty.

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 4.22.20 quotesSB 3.25.25

śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati. By association with devotees, dirty things within the heart of a materialistic man are gradually washed away by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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 22: Pṛthu Mahārāja’s Meeting with the Four Kumāras

The four Kumāras instruct Pṛthu, who dedicates himself and the fruits of his activities to the Lord.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.22
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. astithere is
  2. evacertainly
  3. rājanO King
  4. bhavataḥyour
  5. madhu-dviṣaḥof the Lord
  6. pāda-aravindasyaof the lotus feet
  7. guṇa-anuvādanein glorifying
  8. ratiḥattachment
3

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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.22

    In this verse: “attachment”, “lusty”, “material”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 4.22

    In this verse: “glorify”, “chanting”, “hearing”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 4.22

    In this verse: “cleanses”, “cleansing”, “contamination”

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

How can I give more attention to hearing the Lord’s glories rather than feeding desires for material enjoyment?

Practice

Read aloud a short passage glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead, remembering your position as His eternal servant.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 3.25.25

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.22's connections

Live this todayHearing the Lord’s Glories Cleanses the HeartThis 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 4.22.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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