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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

4.24.51 4.24.53

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.24.52

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

पदा शरत्पद्मपलाशरोचिषा

नखद्युभिर्नोऽन्तरघं विधुन्वता ।

प्रदर्शय स्वीयमपास्तसाध्वसं

पदं गुरो मार्गगुरुस्तमोजुषाम् ॥ ५२ ॥

padā śarat-padma-palāśa-rociṣā

nakha-dyubhir no ’ntar-aghaṁ vidhunvatā

pradarśaya svīyam apāsta-sādhvasaṁ

padaṁ guro mārga-gurus tamo-juṣām

Translation

My dear Lord, Your two lotus feet are so beautiful that they appear like two blossoming petals of the lotus flower which grows during the autumn season. Indeed, the nails of Your lotus feet emanate such a great effulgence that they immediately dissipate all the darkness in the heart of a conditioned soul. My dear Lord, kindly show me that form of Yours which always dissipates all kinds of darkness in the heart of a devotee. My dear Lord, You are the supreme spiritual master of everyone; therefore all conditioned souls covered with the darkness of ignorance can be enlightened by You as the spiritual master.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Begin With the Lord’s Lotus Feet

1
Meditation on the Lord’s form begins with His lotus feet. Similarly, serious study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam begins with the First and Second cantos, which represent His two lotus feet.
2
The effulgence of the Lord’s lotus feet removes darkness, doubts and fears from the heart. By practicing bhagavad-bhakti-yoga, one becomes fearless and joyful, able to understand the science of God.
3
The Lord is the supreme spiritual master and enlightens the devotee from within; His bona fide representative enlightens from without. Remembering the Lord’s lotus feet and following the spiritual master’s advice enable spiritual progress.

Key points from the purport

Now he wants to see the lotus feet of the Lord.
The nails of the feet of the Lord are very bright, as Brahma-saṁhitā testifies.
When one is so liberated, he can really understand the transcendental features of the form of the Lord.

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· 4

The purport of SB 4.24.52 quotesBG 16.1

Abhayaṁ sattva-saṁśuddhiḥ. Fearfulness is the result of material involvement.

The purport of SB 4.24.52 quotesSB 11.2.37

It is also said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.37), bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syāt: fearfulness is a creation of the bodily conception of life.

The purport of SB 4.24.52 quotesBG 18.54

Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā. Without being fearless, one cannot be joyful.

The purport of SB 4.24.52 quotesSB 1.2.20

mukta-saṅgasya jāyate. By practicing bhagavad-bhakti-yoga, one becomes fearless and joyful.

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

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

padāby the lotus feet
śaratautumn
padmalotus flower
palāśapetals
rociṣāvery pleasing
nakhanails
dyubhiḥby the effulgence
naḥour

Key ideas in this verse

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

Īśānukathā · The science of God
Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.24
In this verse: “devotee”
Karuṇā · Compassion
Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 4.24
In this verse: “kindly”
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 4.24
In this verse: “understand”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How could remembering the Lord’s lotus feet help you respond to a fear you carry?

Practice

Spend one minute remembering the Lord’s bright lotus feet and praying for the darkness in your heart to be removed.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayBegin With the Lord’s Lotus FeetThis 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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