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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 4.24.43

Who is speaking and story frame

शक्तित्रयसमेताय मीढुषेऽहङ्कृतात्मने ।

चेतआकूतिरूपाय नमो वाचो विभूतये ॥ ४३ ॥

śakti-traya-sametāya

mīḍhuṣe ’haṅkṛtātmane

ceta-ākūti-rūpāya

namo vāco vibhūtaye

Translation

My dear Lord, You are the supreme controller of the worker, sense activities and results of sense activities [karma]. Therefore You are the controller of the body, mind and senses. You are also the supreme controller of egotism, known as Rudra. You are the source of knowledge and the activities of the Vedic injunctions.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Purify Mind and Action Through Devotional Service

  1. 1

    Lord Śiva is always spiritually awake, yet he prays for purification for our benefit. His prayer teaches us to seek the Lord’s mercy to purify false egotism.

  2. 2

    Knowing “I am not this body; I am spirit soul” is not the end of spiritual understanding. In its actual position, the soul has devotional activities to perform.

  3. 3

    Vedic sound is the source of perfect knowledge, which guides perfect action. Chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra purifies knowledge and action so that mind, senses and words turn toward devotional service.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore Lord Śiva is trying to purify false egotism through the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Thus Lord Śiva is praying again and again for the purification of body, mind and activities through the purification of knowledge and action under the pure directions of the Vedas.
  • Lord Śiva prays to the Supreme Personality of Godhead so that his mind, senses and words will all turn toward devotional activities only.

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

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śakti-trayathree kinds of energies
  2. sametāyaunto the reservoir
  3. mīḍhuṣeunto Rudra
  4. ahaṅkṛta-ātmanethe source of egotism
  5. cetaḥknowledge
  6. ākūtieagerness to work
  7. rūpāyaunto the form of
  8. namaḥmy obeisances
  9. vācaḥunto the sound
  10. vibhūtayeunto the different types of opulences
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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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “spirit soul”, “understanding”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 4.24

    In this verse: “chanting”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I turn both my thoughts and actions toward the Lord’s service?

Practice

Spend one minute chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, carefully listening to the words.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPurify Mind and Action Through Devotional ServiceThis 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 4.24.43? Get an answer from the verses themselves.