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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 ›
Canto 4 · Chapter 26: King Purañjana Goes to the Forest to Hunt, and His Queen Becomes Angry
4.26.104.26.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.26.11

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 4.26.7inside 5 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraNārada Muni → King PrācīnabarhiThe allegory of King Purañjana → Prācīnabarhi, as listener

तत: क्षुत्तृट्परिश्रान्तो निवृत्तो गृहमेयिवान् ।

कृतस्‍नानोचिताहार: संविवेश गतक्लम: ॥ ११ ॥

tataḥ kṣut-tṛṭ-pariśrānto

nivṛtto gṛham eyivān

kṛta-snānocitāhāraḥ

saṁviveśa gata-klamaḥ

Translation

After this, the King, very much fatigued, hungry and thirsty, returned to his royal palace. After returning, he took a bath and had an appropriate dinner. Then he took rest and thus became freed from all restlessness.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Purified Living Restores Peaceful Consciousness

  1. 1

    King Purañjana’s return home represents returning to one’s conscience and stopping sinful activities. Passion and ignorance drive materialistic activity through lust and greed.

  2. 2

    Accepting a spiritual master and hearing about the values of life brings purification and refreshment. This guidance requires giving up illicit sex, intoxication, gambling and meat-eating.

  3. 3

    Appropriate food in the mode of goodness helps awaken real consciousness. Becoming peaceful and free from passion and ignorance supports understanding the science of God through devotional service.

Key points from the purport
  • Retirement is absolutely necessary for a materialist who wants to become free from the activities of a sinful life.
  • King Purañjana’s coming home, taking bath and having an appropriate dinner indicate that a materialistic person must retire from sinful activities and become purified by accepting a spiritual master and hearing from him about the values of life.
  • Kṛṣṇa consciousness is absolutely necessary for one who has committed a lot of sinful activities, especially killing animals or hunting in the forest.

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 4.26.11 quotesBG 17.8

For a human being there are eatables described in Bhagavad-gītā (17.8) as sāttvika-āhāra, or food in the mode of goodness.

The purport of SB 4.26.11 quotesSB 1.2.20

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.20): Unless one can become free from the influence of passion and ignorance, he cannot be pacified, and without being pacified, one cannot understand the science of God.

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. tataḥthereafter
  2. kṣutby hunger
  3. tṛṭthirst
  4. pariśrāntaḥbeing too fatigued
  5. nivṛttaḥhaving ceased
  6. gṛham eyivāncame back to his home
  7. kṛtataken
  8. snānabath
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.26

    In this verse: “lust”, “materialistic”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.26

    In this verse: “king”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 4.26

    In this verse: “purification”, “sinful”

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

Which part of my daily routine feeds restlessness rather than peaceful Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Practice

At one meal today, eat an appropriate amount and avoid meat and liquor, following the guidance on appropriate eating.

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 1.2.20

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

Live this todayPurified Living Restores Peaceful ConsciousnessThis 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 4.26.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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