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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 28: Purañjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life
4.28.124.28.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.28.13

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 4.28.1inside 5 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraNārada Muni → King PrācīnabarhiThe allegory of King Purañjana → Prācīnabarhi, as listener

यवनोपरुद्धायतनो ग्रस्तायां कालकन्यया ।

पुर्यां प्रज्वारसंसृष्ट:

पुरपालोऽन्वतप्यत ॥ १३ ॥

yavanoparuddhāyatano

grastāyāṁ kāla-kanyayā

puryāṁ prajvāra-saṁsṛṣṭaḥ

pura-pālo ’nvatapyata

Translation

The city’s superintendent of police, the serpent, saw that the citizens were being attacked by Kālakanyā, and he became very aggrieved to see his own residence set ablaze after being attacked by the Yavanas.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Soul Leaves With the Subtle Body

  1. 1

    The living entity is covered by a gross body and a subtle body. When the gross body ends, the subtle body carries the living entity to another gross body.

  2. 2

    The serpent, the city's police superintendent, figuratively represents the subtle body. Its work of carrying the soul is not visible to ordinary scientific observation.

  3. 3

    Like a superintendent rendered powerless during an all-out attack, the subtle body cannot maintain control. It also experiences pain as the life air prepares to leave.

Key points from the purport
  • The living entity is covered by two different types of bodies — the gross body and the subtle body.
  • At death we can see that the gross body is finished, but actually the living entity is carried by the subtle body to another gross body.
  • This subtle body has been figuratively described as a serpent, or the city’s police superintendent.

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 28: Purañjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life

Purañjana’s city falls; he becomes a woman, and a brāhmaṇa recalls the soul’s forgotten spiritual friendship.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.28
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yavanaby the Yavanas
  2. uparuddhaattacked
  3. āyatanaḥhis abode
  4. grastāyāmwhen seized
  5. kāla-kanyayāby the daughter of Time
  6. puryāmthe city
  7. prajvāra-saṁsṛṣṭaḥbeing approached by Prajvāra
  8. pura-pālaḥthe city superintendent
  9. anvatapyatabecame also very much aggrieved
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.28

    In this verse: “citizens”

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

How does the distinction between gross and subtle bodies change my understanding of death?

Practice

Write one sentence explaining the difference between the end of the gross body and the soul's departure.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Soul Leaves With the Subtle BodyThis 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 4.28.13? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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