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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

4.24.47-48 4.24.50

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.24.49

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

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

सिंहस्कन्धत्विषो बिभ्रत्सौभगग्रीवकौस्तुभम् ।

श्रियानपायिन्या क्षिप्तनिकषाश्मोरसोल्लसत् ॥ ४९ ॥

siṁha-skandha-tviṣo bibhrat

saubhaga-grīva-kaustubham

śriyānapāyinyā kṣipta-

nikaṣāśmorasollasat

Translation

The Lord has shoulders just like a lion’s. Upon these shoulders are garlands, necklaces and epaulets, and all of these are always glittering. Besides these, there is the beauty of the Kaustubha-maṇi pearl, and on the dark chest of the Lord there are streaks named Śrīvatsa, which are signs of the goddess of fortune. The glittering of these streaks excels the beauty of the golden streaks on a gold-testing stone. Indeed, such beauty defeats a gold-testing stone.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Beauty Surpasses Material Comparisons

1
The Lord’s shoulders resemble those of a lion. His necklaces, garlands and Kaustubha pearl make their beauty surpass even a lion’s.
2
The Śrīvatsa lines on the Lord’s chest are signs of the goddess of fortune.
3
A dark gold-testing stone looks beautiful when streaked with gold. Yet the Lord’s chest surpasses even this beauty.

Key points from the purport

Similarly, the shoulders of the Lord were just like a lion’s, and the necklace and garlands, along with the Kaustubha pearl necklace, combined to excel the beauty of a lion.
The chest of the Lord is streaked with Śrīvatsa lines, the sign of the goddess of fortune.
Yet the chest of the Lord excels even such a stone in its beauty.

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