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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 · Texts 4.26.1-3

Who is speaking and story frame

नारद उवाच

स एकदा महेष्वासो रथं पञ्चाश्वमाशुगम् ।

द्वीषं द्विचक्रमेकाक्षं त्रिवेणुं पञ्चबन्धुरम् ॥ १ ॥

एकरश्म्येकदमनमेकनीडं द्विकूबरम् ।

पञ्चप्रहरणं सप्तवरूथं पञ्चविक्रमम् ॥ २ ॥

हैमोपस्करमारुह्य स्वर्णवर्माक्षयेषुधि: ।

एकादशचमूनाथ: पञ्चप्रस्थमगाद्वनम् ॥ ३ ॥

nārada uvāca

sa ekadā maheṣvāso

rathaṁ pañcāśvam āśu-gam

dvīṣaṁ dvi-cakram ekākṣaṁ

tri-veṇuṁ pañca-bandhuram

eka-raśmy eka-damanam

eka-nīḍaṁ dvi-kūbaram

pañca-praharaṇaṁ sapta-

varūthaṁ pañca-vikramam

haimopaskaram āruhya

svarṇa-varmākṣayeṣudhiḥ

ekādaśa-camū-nāthaḥ

pañca-prastham agād vanam

Translation

The great sage Nārada continued: My dear King, once upon a time King Purañjana took up his great bow, and equipped with golden armor and a quiver of unlimited arrows and accompanied by eleven commanders, he sat on his chariot driven by five swift horses and went to the forest named Pañca-prastha. He took with him in that chariot two explosive arrows. The chariot itself was situated on two wheels and one revolving axle. On the chariot were three flags, one rein, one chariot driver, one sitting place, two poles to which the harness was fixed, five weapons and seven coverings. The chariot moved in five different styles, and five obstacles lay before it. All the decorations of the chariot were made of gold.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Beyond the Modes Through Surrender

  1. 1

    The body is compared to a chariot, and the living entity is its owner, seated within the heart. Paramātmā, the Supersoul, is the driver.

  2. 2

    The three flags represent goodness, passion and ignorance, which influence the living entity. Even someone who appears religious can be driven by ignorance, as shown by animal-killing in the name of religion.

  3. 3

    Transcendental religion concerns our relationship with Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and calls for surrender to Him. The chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa involves no animal sacrifice.

Key points from the purport
  • In these three verses the activity of the living entity is described to prove how the body becomes influenced by the quality of ignorance, even when a person wants to be religious.
  • The material body itself indicates that the living entity is already influenced by the three modes of material nature and that he is driven to enjoy material resources.
  • Thus in these three verses Nārada Muni describes the position of the material body and the encagement of the living entity within it.

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· 5

The purport of SB 4.26.1-3 quotesBG 2.13

The body itself is the chariot, and the living entity is the owner of the body, as explained in Bhagavad-gītā (2.13): dehino ’smin yathā dehe.

The purport of SB 4.26.1-3 quotesBG 18.61

The chariot itself is made of three guṇas, three qualities of material nature, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61): yantrārūḍhāni māyayā.

The purport of SB 4.26.1-3 quotesBG 7.13

This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.13).

The purport of SB 4.26.1-3 quotesBG 18.66

Such a transcendental religious system is recommended by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66): “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.

The purport of SB 4.26.1-3 quotesSB 1.1.2

From the very beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.2) it is said, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra: all kinds of religious systems that are involved in cheating are completely kicked out of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

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 26: King Purañjana Goes to the Forest to Hunt, and His Queen Becomes Angry

Purañjana kills innocent animals while hunting, then returns and tries to soothe his distressed queen.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.26
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nāradaḥ uvācaNārada said
  2. saḥKing Purañjana
  3. ekadāonce upon a time
  4. mahā-iṣvāsaḥcarrying his strong bow and arrows
  5. rathamchariot
  6. pañca-aśvamfive horses
  7. āśu-gamgoing very swiftly
  8. dvi-īṣamtwo arrows
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.26

    In this verse: “king”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 4.26

    In this verse: “chanting”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 4.26

    In this verse: “religious”

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

Do my religious choices help me surrender to Kṛṣṇa, or do they excuse my desire for sense enjoyment?

Practice

Today, chant once attentively: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

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.

The purport quotesSB 1.1.2

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.26's connections

Live this todayBeyond the Modes Through SurrenderThis 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 4.26.1-3? Get an answer from the verses themselves.