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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 24: Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Śiva
4.24.394.24.41

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.24.40

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.24.32inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Śiva → the Pracetās

अर्थलिङ्गाय नभसे नमोऽन्तर्बहिरात्मने ।

नम: पुण्याय लोकाय अमुष्मै भूरिवर्चसे ॥ ४० ॥

artha-liṅgāya nabhase

namo ’ntar-bahir-ātmane

namaḥ puṇyāya lokāya

amuṣmai bhūri-varcase

Translation

My dear Lord, by expanding Your transcendental vibrations, You reveal the actual meaning of everything. You are the all-pervading sky within and without, and You are the ultimate goal of pious activities executed both within this material world and beyond it. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances again and again unto You.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Sacred Sound Reveals the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    Our senses are imperfect, but Vedic sound provides authoritative evidence beyond their reach. The essence of this sacred sound is chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  2. 2

    The soul’s consciousness pervades its body, while the Lord’s supreme consciousness pervades the universe. Everything works in order because Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, is present and directs material nature.

  3. 3

    Lord Śiva prays that chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa may reveal material and spiritual understanding. Beyond heavenly rewards or merging into the Lord’s effulgence, devotees seek His personal association in Vaikuṇṭhalokas or Goloka Vṛndāvana.

Key points from the purport
  • By vibrating this transcendental sound, the meaning of everything, both material and spiritual, is revealed.
  • In other words, the consciousness of both the soul and Supersoul is all-pervading; the limited consciousness of the living entity is pervading the entire material body, and the supreme consciousness of the Lord is pervading the entire universe.
  • Lord Śiva is therefore praying to the Personality of Godhead to be kind to us so that simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra we can understand everything in both the material and spiritual worlds.

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· 3

The purport of SB 4.24.40 quotesBG 13.34

This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (13.34): “O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so do the living entity and the Supersoul illuminate the entire body by consciousness.”

The purport of SB 4.24.40 quotesBG 9.10

Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram: “This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings.”

The purport of SB 4.24.40 quotesBG 10.12

The Lord is described in Bhagavad-gītā (10.12) as pavitraṁ paramam, the supreme pure.

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

Worldly absorption → Sobering awareness. The mind's identification with material life becomes visible.

Chapters 24–29 of Canto 4: Śiva's song and the allegory of Purañjana. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 24: Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Śiva

Lord Śiva mercifully teaches the Pracetās prayers glorifying the Supreme Lord.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.24
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. arthameaning
  2. liṅgāyarevealing
  3. nabhaseunto the sky
  4. namaḥoffering obeisances
  5. antaḥwithin
  6. bahiḥand without
  7. ātmaneunto the self
  8. namaḥoffering obeisances
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.24

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.24

    In this verse: “devotees”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 4.24

    In this verse: “understanding”

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 Hare Kṛṣṇa is nondifferent from the Lord change my chanting?

Practice

Chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra for one minute, listening carefully and asking the Lord for spiritual understanding.

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.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.24's connections

Live this todaySacred Sound Reveals the Supreme LordThis 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 4.24.40? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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