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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 29: Talks Between Nārada and King Prācīnabarhi
4.29.354.29.38

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 4.29.36-37

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 4.29.34inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraNārada Muni → King Prācīnabarhi

अथात्मनोऽर्थभूतस्य यतोऽनर्थपरम्परा ।

संसृतिस्तद्वय‍वच्छेदो भक्त्या परमया गुरौ ॥ ३६ ॥

वासुदेवे भगवति भक्तियोग: समाहित: ।

सध्रीचीनेन वैराग्यं ज्ञानं च जनयिष्यति ॥ ३७ ॥

athātmano ’rtha-bhūtasya

yato ’nartha-paramparā

saṁsṛtis tad-vyavacchedo

bhaktyā paramayā gurau

vāsudeve bhagavati

bhakti-yogaḥ samāhitaḥ

sadhrīcīnena vairāgyaṁ

jñānaṁ ca janayiṣyati

Translation

The real interest of the living entity is to get out of the nescience that causes him to endure repeated birth and death. The only remedy is to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead through His representative. Unless one renders devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, one cannot possibly become completely detached from this material world, nor can he possibly manifest real knowledge.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Our Real Interest Is Serving Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    Our real interest is freedom from the ignorance that causes repeated birth and death. The remedy is surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead through His representative.

  2. 2

    The bodily conception produces unwanted desires for sense gratification. Devotional service to Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, purifies the mind and brings knowledge and detachment.

  3. 3

    Every living entity is eternally a servant of Kṛṣṇa. From regulated practice to spontaneous loving service, the purpose of devotion is to satisfy Him without material desire.

Key points from the purport
  • To get out of this entanglement, one has to take to the devotional service of Lord Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Because Lord Vāsudeva is the Supreme, one should engage oneself in His service, not in the service of the demigods.
  • When one is perfectly advanced in the devotional service of Vāsudeva, one becomes completely detached from the service of the body, that is, his designated position in material existence.

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· 3

The purport of SB 4.29.36-37 quotesSB 1.7.6

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.7.6): “The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service.

The purport of SB 4.29.36-37 quotesSB 5.5.18

Śrīla Ṛṣabhadeva advised His sons, gurur na sa syāt … na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum: “One should not take up the post of spiritual master unless he is able to lead his disciple from the cycle of birth and death.”

The purport of SB 4.29.36-37 quotesSB 1.2.7

“By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.”

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 29: Talks Between Nārada and King Prācīnabarhi

Nārada explains the allegory and devotional service; Prācīnabarhi leaves home to perform austerities.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.29
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. athatherefore
  2. ātmanaḥof the living entity
  3. artha-bhūtasyahaving his real interest
  4. yataḥfrom which
  5. anarthaof all unwanted things
  6. param-parāa series one after another
  7. saṁsṛtiḥmaterial existence
  8. tatof that
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.29

    In this verse: “material”, “sense gratification”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 4.29

    In this verse: “detached”, “detachment”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.29

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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 would my choices change if satisfying Kṛṣṇa became my understanding of self-interest?

Practice

Before one devotional activity today, consciously set the intention to satisfy Kṛṣṇa rather than gain a material reward.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 1.7.6SB 5.5.18SB 1.2.7

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.29's connections

Live this todayOur Real Interest Is Serving 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.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 4.29.36-37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.