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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
4.22.24.22.4

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.22.3

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.22.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

तद्दर्शनोद्गतान् प्राणान् प्रत्यादित्सुरिवोत्थित: ।

ससदस्यानुगो वैन्य इन्द्रियेशो गुणानिव ॥ ३ ॥

tad-darśanodgatān prāṇān

pratyāditsur ivotthitaḥ

sa-sadasyānugo vainya

indriyeśo guṇān iva

Translation

Seeing the four Kumāras, Pṛthu Mahārāja was greatly anxious to receive them. Therefore the King, with all his officers, very hastily got up, as anxiously as a conditioned soul whose senses are immediately attracted by the modes of material nature.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Saintly People Seek Saintly Company

  1. 1

    Pṛthu Mahārāja was so eager to receive the Kumāras that he and his officers immediately rose. He felt as though he could not live without their company.

  2. 2

    His eagerness is compared to a conditioned soul’s strong attraction to sense objects. This comparison does not mean that Pṛthu Mahārāja was a conditioned soul.

  3. 3

    A saintly person is attracted to other saintly persons. Pṛthu Mahārāja’s attraction to the Kumāras showed his own high spiritual advancement.

Key points from the purport
  • Here Pṛthu Mahārāja is compared to such a conditioned soul, not because he was a conditioned soul but because he was so anxious to receive the Kumāras that it was as if without them he would have lost his life.
  • The conditioned soul is attracted by the objects of sense gratification.
  • Pṛthu Mahārāja was in the topmost position of spiritual advancement, and as such, he was attracted by the Kumāras, who were of the same category.

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 4.22.3 quotesBG 3.27

In Bhagavad-gītā (3.27) it is said: Every conditioned soul is influenced by a particular mixture of the modes of material nature.

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. tathim
  2. darśanaseeing
  3. udgatānbeing greatly desired
  4. prāṇānlife
  5. pratyāditsuḥpeacefully going
  6. ivalike
  7. utthitaḥgot up
  8. sawith
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.22

    In this verse: “king”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

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

What does the company I seek reveal about my interests?

Practice

Make time today for one conversation with someone whose saintly qualities you value.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySaintly People Seek Saintly CompanyThis 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 4.22.3? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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