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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.23.18

Who is speaking and story frame

तं सर्वगुणविन्यासं जीवे मायामये न्यधात् ।

तं चानुशयमात्मस्थमसावनुशयी पुमान् ।

ज्ञानवैराग्यवीर्येण स्वरूपस्थोऽजहात्प्रभु: ॥ १८ ॥

taṁ sarva-guṇa-vinyāsaṁ

jīve māyāmaye nyadhāt

taṁ cānuśayam ātma-stham

asāv anuśayī pumān

jñāna-vairāgya-vīryeṇa

svarūpa-stho ’jahāt prabhuḥ

Translation

Pṛthu Mahārāja then offered the total designation of the living entity unto the supreme controller of illusory energy. Being released from all the designations by which the living entity became entrapped, he became free by knowledge and renunciation and by the spiritual force of his devotional service. In this way, being situated in his original constitutional position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he gave up this body as a prabhu, or controller of the senses.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Our Real Identity Is Kṛṣṇa’s Servant

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the source and controller of material energy. Situated within the heart, He gives the living entity facilities to act through different material bodies.

  2. 2

    The individual soul’s real identity is to be eternally a servant of Kṛṣṇa. By cultivating devotional service, one gradually understands one’s actual relationship with Him; complete liberation is the position in which one can execute devotional service.

  3. 3

    Through knowledge, renunciation and devotional strength, Pṛthu Mahārāja became a prabhu, a controller of the senses. Although an empowered incarnation, he followed devotional principles to teach others by his own example.

Key points from the purport
  • The jīva, or the individual living entity, becomes entrapped by the material energy by the supreme will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • When Pṛthu Mahārāja became spiritually powerful by the enhancement of his spiritual knowledge (jñāna) and renunciation of material desires, he became a prabhu, or master of his senses (sometimes called gosvāmī or svāmī).
  • The word pāda means “position,” and Prabhupāda indicates that he is given the position of prabhu, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for he acts on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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· 2

The purport of SB 4.23.18 quotesBG 18.61

In Bhagavad-gītā (18.61) we understand: Īśvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated within the heart of all conditioned souls, and by His supreme will the living entity, or individual soul, gets the facility to lord it over material nature in various types of bodies, which are known as yantra, or the moving vehicle offered by the total material energy,…

The purport of SB 4.23.18 quotesSB 2.10.6

As it is said, hitvānyathā-rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ: when a living entity abandons the activities of māyā and attains the position from which he can execute devotional service, his state is called svarūpa-sthaḥ, or complete liberation.

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 23: Mahārāja Pṛthu’s Going Back Home

Pṛthu practices forest austerities and fixed devotion to Kṛṣṇa, then departs; Arci’s faithful service is praised.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.23
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tamunto Him
  2. sarva-guṇa-vinyāsamthe reservoir of all qualities
  3. jīveunto the designations
  4. māyā-mayethe reservoir of all potencies
  5. nyadhātplaced
  6. tamthat
  7. caalso
  8. anuśayamdesignation
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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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 4.23

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understands”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.23

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 4.23

    In this verse: “gave up”

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 would remembering that I am Kṛṣṇa’s servant shape one choice today?

Practice

Before one act of devotional service today, pause and remember: “I am eternally a servant of Kṛṣṇa.”

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 2.10.6

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.23's connections

Live this todayOur Real Identity Is Kṛṣṇa’s ServantThis 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 4.23.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.