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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
4.26.224.26.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.26.23

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:King Purañjanasince 4.26.21inside 5 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraNārada Muni → King PrācīnabarhiThe allegory of King Purañjana → Prācīnabarhi, as listener

सा त्वं मुखं सुदति सुभ्र्‌वनुरागभार

व्रीडाविलम्बविलसद्धसितावलोकम् ।

नीलालकालिभिरुपस्कृतमुन्नसं न:

स्वानां प्रदर्शय मनस्विनि वल्गुवाक्यम् ॥ २३ ॥

sā tvaṁ mukhaṁ sudati subhrv anurāga-bhāra-

vrīḍā-vilamba-vilasad-dhasitāvalokam

nīlālakālibhir upaskṛtam unnasaṁ naḥ

svānāṁ pradarśaya manasvini valgu-vākyam

Translation

My dear wife, your teeth are very beautifully set, and your attractive features make you appear very thoughtful. Kindly give up your anger, be merciful upon me, and please smile upon me with loving attachment. When I see a smile on your beautiful face, and when I see your hair, which is as beautiful as the color blue, and see your raised nose and hear your sweet talk, you will become more beautiful to me and thus attract me and oblige me. You are my most respected mistress.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Rediscover the Beauty of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness

  1. 1

    Attraction to external bodily beauty can make a person an obedient servant of that attraction. The purport warns that such illusory beauty makes one a victim of māyā.

  2. 2

    The body is composed of material ingredients such as flesh and blood. Remembering its actual composition helps expose the illusion of bodily beauty.

  3. 3

    The Queen's beautiful features are compared to the beauty of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the living entity's original consciousness. Returning to that consciousness makes one steady and one's life successful.

Key points from the purport
  • The story is told that at one time a man, very much attracted to a beautiful woman, wooed the woman in such a way that she devised a plan to show him the ingredients of her beauty.
  • When the man began to argue with her, the woman said that she was not looking beautiful because she was separated from the ingredients of her beauty.
  • Thus the man became aware that a beautiful woman is simply a lump of matter composed of blood, stool, urine and similar other disgusting ingredients.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sāthat (you, my wife)
  2. tvamyou
  3. mukhamyour face
  4. su-datiwith beautiful teeth
  5. su-bhruwith beautiful eyebrows
  6. anurāgaattachment
  7. bhāraloaded by
  8. vrīḍāfeminine shyness
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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: “attachment”, “illusion”, “māyā”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 4.26

    In this verse: “give up”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 4.26

    In this verse: “kindly”

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

Am I giving more attention to external beauty or to reviving my original Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Practice

Set aside one minute today to turn your attention from outward appearance to thoughts of Kṛṣṇa.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRediscover the Beauty of Kṛṣṇa 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 4.26.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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