1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 4 · The Creation of the Fourth Order · 31 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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
4.24.634.24.65

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.24.64

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

सृष्टं स्वशक्त्येदमनुप्रविष्ट-

श्चचतुर्विधं पुरमात्मांशकेन ।

अथो विदुस्तं पुरुषं सन्तमन्त-

र्भुङ्क्ते हृषीकैर्मधु सारघं य: ॥ ६४ ॥

sṛṣṭaṁ sva-śaktyedam anupraviṣṭaś

catur-vidhaṁ puram ātmāṁśakena

atho vidus taṁ puruṣaṁ santam antar

bhuṅkte hṛṣīkair madhu sāra-ghaṁ yaḥ

Translation

My dear Lord, after creating by Your own potencies, You enter within the creation in four kinds of forms. Being within the hearts of the living entities, You know them and know how they are enjoying their senses. The so-called happiness of this material creation is exactly like the bees’ enjoyment of honey after it has been collected in the honeycomb.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Witnesses Every Heart

  1. 1

    Dull matter cannot work independently. The Lord enters the creation as Paramātmā, and the living entities enter as His separated parts and parcels.

  2. 2

    Every living entity is an individual soul, whether appearing as a human being, animal, tree, germ or microbe. The Supreme Personality of Godhead resides in every heart, knowing desires and permitting activities.

  3. 3

    Material enjoyment mixes pleasure with suffering, like bees enjoying honey while suffering other bees’ bites. The Lord remains aloof and worshipable; spiritual enjoyment is pure enjoyment under His protection.

Key points from the purport
  • In other words, both the living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead enter into the material creation just to make it active.
  • In other words, the living entities are subjected to the pains and pleasures of material enjoyment, whereas the Supreme Personality of Godhead, knowing their plans for sense enjoyment, is aloof from them.
  • However, the Paramātmā, or Supreme Personality of Godhead, is worshipable because He has arranged for the happiness of the living entity in the material world.

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 4.24.64 quotesBG 7.5

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.5): “Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who are struggling with the material nature and are sustaining the universe.”

The purport of SB 4.24.64 quotesBG 15.15

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.”

The purport of SB 4.24.64 quotesBG 13.23

In the Bhagavad-gītā (13.23) the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Paramātmā is described as upadraṣṭā (the overseer) and anumantā (the permitter).

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. sṛṣṭamin the creation
  2. sva-śaktyāby Your own potency
  3. idamthis cosmic manifestation
  4. anupraviṣṭaḥentering afterward
  5. catuḥ-vidhamfour kinds of
  6. purambodies
  7. ātma-aṁśakenaby Your own part and parcel
  8. athotherefore
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: “worshipable”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 4.24

    In this verse: “suffering”

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

Where do I notice that the material enjoyment I seek also brings suffering?

Practice

Take a quiet moment today to acknowledge the Lord within your heart and offer Him a prayer of worship.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Witnesses Every HeartThis 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 4.24.64? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories