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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 23: Mahārāja Pṛthu’s Going Back Home
4.23.284.23.30

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.23.29

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.23.29inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

मैत्रेय उवाच

स्तुवतीष्वमरस्त्रीषु पतिलोकं गता वधू: ।

यं वा आत्मविदां धुर्यो वैन्य: प्रापाच्युताश्रय: ॥ २९ ॥

maitreya uvāca

stuvatīṣv amara-strīṣu

pati-lokaṁ gatā vadhūḥ

yaṁ vā ātma-vidāṁ dhuryo

vainyaḥ prāpācyutāśrayaḥ

Translation

The great sage Maitreya continued speaking: My dear Vidura, when the wives of the denizens of heaven were thus talking amongst themselves, Queen Arci reached the planet which her husband, Mahārāja Pṛthu, the topmost self-realized soul, had attained.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Make Home a Place of Devotion

  1. 1

    Queen Arci reached the same Vaikuṇṭha planet as Mahārāja Pṛthu. Their destination was beyond the material universe.

  2. 2

    Husbands and wives in Vaikuṇṭha are absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and in chanting the Lord’s glories. Their attraction to one another does not involve sexual enjoyment.

  3. 3

    A husband and wife can make their home as good as Vaikuṇṭha by serving the Lord’s Deity according to scriptural directions. Advancement means growing attached to the Lord’s service and detached from serving the senses.

Key points from the purport
  • But in this verse the word pati-loka does not refer to any planet within this material universe, for Pṛthu Mahārāja, being topmost amongst self-realized souls, certainly returned home, back to Godhead, and attained one of the Vaikuṇṭha planets.
  • Queen Arci also entered Patiloka, but this planet is not in the material universe, for she actually entered the planet which her husband attained.
  • According to Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura also, a husband and wife can turn the home into a place as good as Vaikuṇṭha, even while in this material world.

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 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. maitreyaḥ uvācathe great sage Maitreya continued to speak
  2. stuvatīṣuwhile glorifying
  3. amara-strīṣuby the wives of the denizens of heaven
  4. pati-lokamthe planet where the husband had gone
  5. gatāreaching
  6. vadhūḥthe wife
  7. yamwhere
  8. vāor
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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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.23

    In this verse: “attached”, “material”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

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

    In this verse: “detached”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 4.23

    In this verse: “chanting”

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 can my home become more centered on serving and glorifying the Lord?

Practice

Spend a few minutes at home today chanting the Lord’s glories.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMake Home a Place of DevotionThis 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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