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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 4.24.62

Who is speaking and story frame

क्रियाकलापैरिदमेव योगिन:

श्रद्धान्विता: साधु यजन्ति सिद्धये ।

भूतेन्द्रियान्त:करणोपलक्षितं

वेदे च तन्त्रे च त एव कोविदा: ॥ ६२ ॥

kriyā-kalāpair idam eva yoginaḥ

śraddhānvitāḥ sādhu yajanti siddhaye

bhūtendriyāntaḥ-karaṇopalakṣitaṁ

vede ca tantre ca ta eva kovidāḥ

Translation

My dear Lord, Your universal form consists of all five elements, the senses, mind, intelligence, false ego (which is material) and the Paramātmā, Your partial expansion, who is the director of everything. Yogīs other than the devotees — namely the karma-yogī and jñāna-yogī — worship You by their respective actions in their respective positions. It is stated both in the Vedas and in the śāstras that are corollaries of the Vedas, and indeed everywhere, that it is only You who are to be worshiped. That is the expert version of all the Vedas.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Direct All Worship to the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    The actual goal of sacrifice and worship is Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The demigods are His agents, not independent objects of worship.

  2. 2

    Those expert in the Vedas and Tantras understand that everyone should worship Lord Viṣṇu. The purpose of the regulative principles is to satisfy Him.

  3. 3

    The material elements, mind, intelligence, ego and living entities represent the Lord’s different energies. Knowing that the one Lord expands in everything, a devotee concentrates all energy in worshiping Him.

Key points from the purport
  • Thus even when different demigods are worshiped in the Vedic and Tantric sacrifices, the actual goal of sacrifice is Lord Viṣṇu.
  • Thus the worshipers of various demigods also worship the Supreme Lord, but they do so against the regulative principles.
  • The purpose of the regulative principles is to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu.

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· 2

The purport of SB 4.24.62 quotesSB 2.3.10

yajeta puruṣaṁ param. The devotees, the jñānīs, who are known as mokṣa-kāma, and the karmīs, who are known as sarva-kāma, are all aspiring to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu.

The purport of SB 4.24.62 quotesBG 9.23

Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (9.23) it is said: “Whatever a man may sacrifice to other gods, O son of Kuntī, is really meant for Me alone, but is offered without true understanding.”

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kriyāactivities
  2. kalāpaiḥby processes
  3. idamthis
  4. evacertainly
  5. yoginaḥtranscendentalists
  6. śraddhā-anvitāḥwith faith and conviction
  7. sādhuproperly
  8. yajantiworship
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotees”, “worship”, “devotee”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 4.24

    In this verse: “false ego”

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

Is my worship directed toward satisfying the Supreme Lord, or mainly toward obtaining benefits?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer to Lord Viṣṇu today with the intention of pleasing Him rather than asking for material benefits.

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.

Live this todayDirect All Worship to 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 4.24.62? Get an answer from the verses themselves.