1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 4 · The Creation of the Fourth Order · 31 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 23: Mahārāja Pṛthu’s Going Back Home
4.23.204.23.22

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.23.21

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.22.48inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

देहं विपन्नाखिलचेतनादिकं

पत्यु: पृथिव्या दयितस्य चात्मन: ।

आलक्ष्य किञ्चिच्च विलप्य सा सती

चितामथारोपयदद्रिसानुनि ॥ २१ ॥

dehaṁ vipannākhila-cetanādikaṁ

patyuḥ pṛthivyā dayitasya cātmanaḥ

ālakṣya kiñcic ca vilapya sā satī

citām athāropayad adri-sānuni

Translation

When Queen Arci saw that her husband, who had been so merciful to her and the earth, no longer showed symptoms of life, she lamented for a little while and then built a fiery pyre on top of a hill and placed the body of her husband on it.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Understanding the Soul Amid Grief

  1. 1

    Arci lamented for a little while when her husband’s bodily signs of life ceased. Yet she understood that the living entity does not die with the body.

  2. 2

    The soul passes from one body to another, just as the body passes through childhood, youth and old age. This understanding helped Arci turn toward the duties before her.

  3. 3

    Pṛthu Mahārāja protected the earth, his citizens and his family. He is described as merciful because he gave protection to everyone.

Key points from the purport
  • After seeing all the life symptoms in her husband stop, the Queen lamented for a while.
  • The Queen should have been afraid of being alone in the forest with the body of her husband, but since she was a great wife of a great personality, she lamented for a while but immediately understood that she had many duties to perform.
  • Thus instead of wasting her time in lamentation, she immediately prepared a fiery pyre on top of a hill and then placed the body of her husband on it to be burned.

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 4.23.21 quotesBG 2.13

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.13): “As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dehambody
  2. vipannacompletely failing
  3. akhilaall
  4. cetanafeeling
  5. ādikamsymptoms
  6. patyuḥof her husband
  7. pṛthivyāḥthe world
  8. dayitasyaof the merciful
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 4.23

    In this verse: “merciful”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 4.23

    In this verse: “lamented”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 4.23

    In this verse: “duties”

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 might understanding the soul’s continued existence shape your response to loss?

Practice

Spend a quiet minute reflecting on the distinction between the living soul and the changing body.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayUnderstanding the Soul Amid GriefThis 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 4.23.21? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories