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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 30: The Activities of the Pracetās
4.30.124.30.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.30.13

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Lordsince 4.30.9inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

कण्डो: प्रम्‍लोचया लब्धा कन्या कमललोचना ।

तां चापविद्धां जगृहुर्भूरुहा नृपनन्दना: ॥ १३ ॥

kaṇḍoḥ pramlocayā labdhā

kanyā kamala-locanā

tāṁ cāpaviddhāṁ jagṛhur

bhūruhā nṛpa-nandanāḥ

Translation

O sons of King Prācīnabarhiṣat, the heavenly society girl named Pramlocā kept the lotus-eyed daughter of Kaṇḍu in the care of the forest trees. Then she went back to the heavenly planet. This daughter was born by the coupling of the Apsarā named Pramlocā with the sage Kaṇḍu.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Envy Disturbs Others’ Spiritual Efforts

  1. 1

    Although the demigods hold responsible posts through pious activities, they are ordinary living entities. Indra became afraid and envious when Kaṇḍu performed severe austerities for material power.

  2. 2

    The purport describes the material world as filled with envy and competition with the opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such envy makes people afraid of one another.

  3. 3

    Indra sent Pramlocā to break Kaṇḍu’s austerities, and Kaṇḍu became attracted to her. After their daughter was born, Pramlocā returned to heaven, and the trees accepted the child.

Key points from the purport
  • Whenever a great sage undergoes severe austerities for material power, the King of heaven, Indra, becomes very envious.
  • Thus Indra was very much afraid of the severe austerities performed by the great sage Kaṇḍu, and he sent Pramlocā to break his vows and austerities.
  • King Indra became successful in breaking the vow of the great sage Kaṇḍu, who became attracted by the beauty of the heavenly society girl Pramlocā and begot a female child.

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

Search → Devotional resolution. Prayer and instruction redirect household and societal life.

Chapters 30–31 of Canto 4: Pracetās and Nārada's concluding guidance. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 30: The Activities of the Pracetās

The Lord appears to the Pracetās, who pray only for His satisfaction; Brahmā later pacifies them.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.30
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kaṇḍoḥof the sage Kaṇḍu
  2. pramlocayāby a heavenly society girl named Pramlocā
  3. labdhāobtained
  4. kanyādaughter
  5. kamala-locanālotus-eyed
  6. tāmher
  7. caalso
  8. apaviddhāmgiven up
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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “king”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “material”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “afraid”

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

Does another person’s progress make me glad, or does it make me fear losing my own position?

Practice

If envy arises today, pause and refrain from saying or doing anything that would obstruct the other person.

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.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.30's connections

Live this todayEnvy Disturbs Others’ Spiritual EffortsThis 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 4.30.13? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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