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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
4.28.204.28.22

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.28.21

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:King Purañjanasince 4.28.21inside 5 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraNārada Muni → King PrācīnabarhiThe allegory of King Purañjana → Prācīnabarhi, as listener

कथं नु दारका दीना दारकीर्वापरायणा: ।

वर्तिष्यन्ते मयि गते भिन्ननाव इवोदधौ ॥ २१ ॥

kathaṁ nu dārakā dīnā

dārakīr vāparāyaṇāḥ

vartiṣyante mayi gate

bhinna-nāva ivodadhau

Translation

King Purañjana continued worrying: “After I pass from this world, how will my sons and daughters, who are now fully dependent on me, live and continue their lives? Their position will be similar to that of passengers aboard a ship wrecked in the midst of the ocean.”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Attachment Shapes the Next Life

  1. 1

    Purañjana worried that his dependent children would be like passengers on a ship wrecked in the ocean after his death.

  2. 2

    Unless one is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, one accepts another body according to one's particular state of consciousness. Purañjana's deep absorption in thoughts of his wife would lead him to accept a woman's body.

  3. 3

    The next life is also affected by one's actions in this life. Social, political or national necessity does not remove the suffering caused by sinful activities.

Key points from the purport
  • Similarly, a politician also worries about what will happen to his country or his political party.
  • Similarly, a politician or so-called nationalist who is inordinately attached to the land of his birth will certainly be reborn in the same land after ending his political career.
  • Thus they try to avoid considering the future and continue committing all kinds of sinful activities in the name of social, political and national necessity.

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. kathamhow
  2. nuindeed
  3. dārakāḥsons
  4. dīnāḥpoor
  5. dārakīḥdaughters
  6. vāor
  7. aparāyaṇāḥhaving no one else to depend on
  8. vartiṣyantewill live
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 4.28

    In this verse: “king”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 4.28

    In this verse: “fully dependent”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 4.28

    In this verse: “suffering”

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 attachments occupy my thoughts most, and how much room do I give to Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Practice

Set aside one minute today to turn your thoughts from a recurring worry toward Kṛṣṇa.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayAttachment Shapes the Next LifeThis 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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