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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 22: Pṛthu Mahārāja’s Meeting with the Four Kumāras

4.22.25 4.22.27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.22.26

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

यदा रतिर्ब्रह्मणि नैष्ठिकी पुमा-

नाचार्यवान् ज्ञानविरागरंहसा ।

दहत्यवीर्यं हृदयं जीवकोशं

पञ्चात्मकं योनिमिवोत्थितोऽग्नि: ॥ २६ ॥

yadā ratir brahmaṇi naiṣṭhikī pumān

ācāryavān jñāna-virāga-raṁhasā

dahaty avīryaṁ hṛdayaṁ jīva-kośaṁ

pañcātmakaṁ yonim ivotthito ’gniḥ

Translation

Upon becoming fixed in his attachment to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the grace of the spiritual master and by awakening knowledge and detachment, the living entity, situated within the heart of the body and covered by the five elements, burns up his material surroundings exactly as fire, arising from wood, burns the wood itself.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Knowledge Burns Material Coverings

1
Take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and increase attraction for Kṛṣṇa through his instructions. By this guidance, knowledge in devotional service and detachment from the material world develop.
2
As fire arising from wood burns the wood itself, spiritual knowledge and detachment burn the soul’s material coverings. These include ignorance, false egoism, attachment to the material world, envy, and absorption in material consciousness.
3
Freedom from these coverings establishes one firmly in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One fully engaged in the Lord’s service with body, mind, and speech is liberated even within this body.

Key points from the purport

Similarly, when a living entity increases his attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is to be considered like fire.
Unless one takes shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and advances one’s attraction for Kṛṣṇa by the spiritual master’s instructions, the five coverings of the living entity cannot be removed from the material heart.
This is the process: one must take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and by his instruction increase one’s knowledge in devotional service, become detached from the material world, and thus become liberated.

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 4.22.26 quotesBG 14.26

In other words, a devotee’s body is not connected with material activities, and as such, a devotee is always liberated (brahma-bhūyāya kalpate), as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26).

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 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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

yadāwhen
ratiḥattachment
brahmaṇiin the Supreme Personality of Godhead
naiṣṭhikīfixed
pumānthe person
ācāryavāncompletely surrendered to the spiritual master
jñānaknowledge
virāgadetachment

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”, “material”
Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment
Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 4.22
In this verse: “detachment”
Kṛpā · Divine mercy
Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 4.22
In this verse: “grace”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which material attachment do I need help overcoming through the spiritual master’s instructions?

Practice

Review one instruction on devotional service from a bona fide spiritual master and take one small step to follow it today.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Knowledge Burns Material CoveringsThis 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 4.22.26? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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