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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.
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Canto 4 · Chapter 28: Purañjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life
4.28.314.28.33

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.28.32

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
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

अगस्त्य: प्राग्दुहितरमुपयेमे धृतव्रताम् ।

यस्यां द‍ृढच्युतो जात इध्मवाहात्मजो मुनि: ॥ ३२ ॥

agastyaḥ prāg duhitaram

upayeme dhṛta-vratām

yasyāṁ dṛḍhacyuto jāta

idhmavāhātmajo muniḥ

Translation

The great sage named Agastya married the first-born daughter of Malayadhvaja, the avowed devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. From her one son was born, whose name was Dṛḍhacyuta, and from him another son was born, whose name was Idhmavāha.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Fix the Mind in Devotional Service

  1. 1

    Agastya Muni represents the mind, the center of all the senses. When the mind takes to bhakti, it engages the senses in devotional service.

  2. 2

    Bhakti is rendered only to Lord Viṣṇu and His expansions, not to an imagined form of God. The daughter representing bhakti has her eyes always upon Kṛṣṇa.

  3. 3

    A mind completely engaged in devotional service becomes fixed in its spiritual position. Idhmavāha represents approaching a spiritual master in service, and initiated devotees strictly follow scriptural injunctions.

Key points from the purport
  • When the mind takes to the cult of bhakti, it engages in devotional service.
  • Therefore bhakti-latā is dṛḍha-vrata, the great vow, for when the mind is completely engaged in devotional service, the mind does not fall down.
  • Thus from bhakti-latā the son Dṛḍhacyuta is born, and from Dṛḍhacyuta the next son, Idhmavāha, is born.

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. agastyaḥthe great sage Agastya
  2. prākfirst
  3. duhitaramdaughter
  4. upayememarried
  5. dhṛta-vratāmtaken to vows
  6. yasyāmthrough whom
  7. dṛḍhacyutaḥnamed Dṛḍhacyuta
  8. jātaḥwas born
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Visarga · Subcreation

    How do living beings and their worlds appear? · Subject 2 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.28

    In this verse: “devotee”, “devotional service”, “devotees”

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 presently occupies my mind, and how can I direct it toward Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Take a few quiet minutes to remember Kṛṣṇa, gently returning your attention to Him whenever it wanders.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayFix the Mind in Devotional ServiceThis 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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