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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
4.28.194.28.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.28.20

Ūti· What drives us to act
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

प्रबोधयति माविज्ञं व्युषिते शोककर्शिता ।

वर्त्मैतद् गृहमेधीयं वीरसूरपि नेष्यति ॥ २० ॥

prabodhayati māvijñaṁ

vyuṣite śoka-karśitā

vartmaitad gṛha-medhīyaṁ

vīra-sūr api neṣyati

Translation

King Purañjana continued thinking how, when he was in a state of bewilderment, his wife would give him good counsel and how she would become aggrieved when he was away from home. Although she was the mother of so many sons and heroes, the King still feared that she would not be able to maintain the responsibility of household affairs.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Purify Consciousness Through Service to Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    The living entity is an eternal, atomic part of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, sharing His spiritual quality but not His greatness. Absorption in sense objects keeps the soul struggling in material existence.

  2. 2

    The living entity carries conceptions of life from one body to another, as air carries aromas. Therefore death alone does not end bondage; consciousness and activities must change during this life.

  3. 3

    Real happiness comes through purified, transcendental senses, not merely through the results of hard work. Taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engaging the senses in the Lord's service brings real happiness and liberation.

Key points from the purport
  • As part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, a living entity is supposed to think of Kṛṣṇa, but here we see that King Purañjana (the living entity) is thinking of a woman.
  • Since King Purañjana is thinking of his wife, his struggle for existence in the material world will not be ended by death.
  • Similarly, King Purañjana, the living entity, now passes the air of his life over his wife, a woman; therefore he has to accept the body of a woman in his next life.

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· 4

The purport of SB 4.28.20 quotesBG 15.7

As Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): “The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts.

The purport of SB 4.28.20 quotesBG 3.9

This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9): yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ.

The purport of SB 4.28.20 quotesBG 6.21

Sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam: real happiness must be appreciated by one’s transcendental senses.

The purport of SB 4.28.20 quotesBG 15.8

It is stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.8): “The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas.”

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 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. prabodhayatigives good counsel
  2. māunto me
  3. avijñamfoolish
  4. vyuṣiteat the time of my being away
  5. śokaby aggrievement
  6. karśitābeing aggrieved and thus dried up
  7. vartmapath
  8. etatthis
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 4.28

    In this verse: “household”, “material”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 4.28

    In this verse: “feared”, “death”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.28

    In this verse: “king”

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

What is one activity I can change from absorption in enjoyment to service to Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Use your voice for a few minutes today to read aloud about Kṛṣṇa, consciously engaging it in His service.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPurify Consciousness Through Service to KṛṣṇaThis 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.

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