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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
4.22.44.22.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.22.5

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
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

तत्पादशौचसलिलैर्मार्जितालकबन्धन: ।

तत्र शीलवतां वृत्तमाचरन्मानयन्निव ॥ ५ ॥

tat-pāda-śauca-salilair

mārjitālaka-bandhanaḥ

tatra śīlavatāṁ vṛttam

ācaran mānayann iva

Translation

After this, the King took the water which had washed the lotus feet of the Kumāras and sprinkled it over his hair. By such respectful actions, the King, as an exemplary personality, showed how to receive a spiritually advanced personality.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Teach Respect Through Personal Example

  1. 1

    Pṛthu Mahārāja sprinkled on his hair the water that had washed the Kumāras’ lotus feet. He showed others how to honor spiritually advanced persons.

  2. 2

    Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu practiced what He taught. Although recognized as an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, He did not agree to be addressed as one.

  3. 3

    One should not advertise oneself as an incarnation or as specially empowered by Kṛṣṇa. Pṛthu Mahārāja taught as an ideal Vaiṣṇava king through his own behavior.

Key points from the purport
  • Pṛthu Mahārāja was the ideal Vaiṣṇava king; therefore he taught others by his personal behavior how to receive and respect saintly persons like the Kumāras.
  • When a saintly person comes to one’s home, it is the Vedic custom first to wash his feet with water and then sprinkle this water over the heads of oneself and one’s family.
  • Pṛthu Mahārāja did this, for he was an exemplary teacher of the people in general.

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. tat-pādatheir lotus feet
  2. śaucawashed
  3. salilaiḥwater
  4. mārjitasprinkled
  5. alakahair
  6. bandhanaḥbunch
  7. tatrathere
  8. śīlavatāmof the respectable gentlemen
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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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.22

    In this verse: “king”

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

Does my behavior show the respect that I encourage others to offer?

Practice

Choose one respectful action you want others to learn, and quietly practice it yourself today.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayTeach Respect Through Personal ExampleThis 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.

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