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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
4.29.714.29.73

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.29.72

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 4.29.60inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraNārada Muni → King Prācīnabarhi

गर्भे बाल्येऽप्यपौष्कल्यादेकादशविधं तदा ।

लिङ्गं न द‍ृश्यते यून: कुह्वां चन्द्रमसो यथा ॥ ७२ ॥

garbhe bālye ’py apauṣkalyād

ekādaśa-vidhaṁ tadā

liṅgaṁ na dṛśyate yūnaḥ

kuhvāṁ candramaso yathā

Translation

When one is a youth, all the ten senses and the mind are completely visible. However, in the mother’s womb or in the boyhood state, the sense organs and the mind remain covered, just as the full moon is covered by the darkness of the dark-moon night.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Covered Senses Are Still Present

  1. 1

    In the womb and early childhood, the body, sense organs and mind are not fully developed. Their activities depend on how developed these conditions are.

  2. 2

    The senses are present even when they are not active, just as the moon remains present when it is not visible on a dark-moon night.

  3. 3

    When the gross and subtle bodies develop, the senses become active, even in dreams. The purport explains that bodily development and subtle desires are connected.

Key points from the purport
  • When a living entity is within the womb, his gross body, the ten sense organs and the mind are not fully developed.
  • Unless the senses of the gross body are developed, they will not act on the subtle body.
  • Similarly, because of the absence of desires in the subtle body, there may be no development in the gross body.

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 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. garbhein the womb
  2. bālyein boyhood
  3. apialso
  4. apauṣkalyātbecause of immaturity
  5. ekādaśathe ten senses and the mind
  6. vidhamin the form of
  7. tadāat that time
  8. liṅgamthe subtle body or false ego
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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 4.29

    In this verse: “mother’s”, “childhood”

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

Do I mistake the absence of visible activity for the absence of the senses or mind?

Practice

Recall the moon example today and write one sentence explaining the difference between being covered and being absent.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayCovered Senses Are Still PresentThis 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 4.29.72? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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