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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
4.22.304.22.32

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.22.31

Ūti· What drives us to act
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

भ्रश्यत्यनुस्मृतिश्चित्तं ज्ञानभ्रंश: स्मृतिक्षये ।

तद्रोधं कवय: प्राहुरात्मापह्नवमात्मन: ॥ ३१ ॥

bhraśyaty anusmṛtiś cittaṁ

jñāna-bhraṁśaḥ smṛti-kṣaye

tad-rodhaṁ kavayaḥ prāhur

ātmāpahnavam ātmanaḥ

Translation

When one deviates from his original consciousness, he loses the capacity to remember his previous position or recognize his present one. When remembrance is lost, all knowledge acquired is based on a false foundation. When this occurs, learned scholars consider that the soul is lost.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Remember Your Original Spiritual Identity

  1. 1

    The soul is eternal and cannot actually be lost. It is called lost when proper spiritual knowledge is no longer working.

  2. 2

    Animals also have souls; without the soul, a body cannot move. Gross ignorance hides awareness of spiritual identity but does not remove the soul.

  3. 3

    Our original consciousness is Kṛṣṇa consciousness because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Forgetting this position leads us to identify with the body and act on a false foundation.

Key points from the purport
  • The soul is said to be lost when there is no proper knowledge exhibited.
  • In this way, when the activities of proper consciousness are checked, all the activities of the lost soul are performed on a false basis.
  • At the present moment, human civilization is acting on a false platform of bodily identification; therefore it can be said that the people of the present age have lost their souls, and in this respect they are no better than animals.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. bhraśyatibecomes destroyed
  2. anusmṛtiḥconstantly thinking
  3. cittamconsciousness
  4. jñāna-bhraṁśaḥbereft of real knowledge
  5. smṛti-kṣayeby destruction of remembrance
  6. tat-rodhamchoking that process
  7. kavayaḥgreat learned scholars
  8. prāhuḥhave opined
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 4.22

    In this verse: “knowledge”

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

Am I basing my understanding of myself mainly on my body or on my relationship with Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Take one quiet minute today to remember: “I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, not a product of material elements.”

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRemember Your Original Spiritual IdentityThis 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 4.22.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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