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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
4.30.234.30.25

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.30.24

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Pracetāssince 4.30.22inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

नमो विशुद्धसत्त्वाय हरये हरिमेधसे ।

वासुदेवाय कृष्णाय प्रभवे सर्वसात्वताम् ॥ २४ ॥

namo viśuddha-sattvāya

haraye hari-medhase

vāsudevāya kṛṣṇāya

prabhave sarva-sātvatām

Translation

Dear Lord, we offer our respectful obeisances unto You because Your existence is completely independent of all material influences. Your Lordship always takes away the devotee’s miserable conditions, for Your brain plans how to do so. You live everywhere as Paramātmā; therefore You are known as Vāsudeva. You also accept Vasudeva as Your father, and You are celebrated by the name Kṛṣṇa. You are so kind that You always increase the influence of all kinds of devotees.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Kindly Delivers and Empowers His Devotees

  1. 1

    Lord Viṣṇu’s existence is completely free from the material modes. He is not in the same category as Brahmā and Śiva; Śiva’s position is between Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Brahmā, a living entity.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, and all Viṣṇu expansions are His plenary portions or portions of those portions. He is known as Vāsudeva and appears as the son of Vasudeva.

  3. 3

    The Lord takes away His devotees’ miserable conditions and is always planning to deliver conditioned souls from māyā. He also increases His devotees’ influence and entrusts them with powers for His service.

Key points from the purport
  • Out of these three, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva accept material bodies, but Lord Viṣṇu does not accept a material body.
  • One should therefore not think that Lord Viṣṇu is in the same category with Lord Brahmā and Śiva.
  • Lord Śiva is not actually like a living entity, but he is not the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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· 2

The purport of SB 4.30.24 quotesBG 4.8

“To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear millennium after millennium.”

The purport of SB 4.30.24 quotesSB 1.3.28

mṛḍayanti yuge yuge. Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead, appears in this material world when the demigods, who are devotees of the Lord, are disturbed by the demons.

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

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. namaḥobeisances
  2. viśuddha-sattvāyaunto You, whose existence is free from all material influence
  3. harayewho takes away all miserable conditions of devotees
  4. hari-medhasewhose brain works only for the deliverance of the conditioned soul
  5. vāsudevāyathe all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead
  6. kṛṣṇāyaunto Kṛṣṇa
  7. prabhavewho increases the influence
  8. sarva-sātvatāmof all kinds of devotees
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “devotee’s”, “devotees’”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”, “māyā”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “father”

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 does the Lord’s constant concern for His devotees strengthen my desire to serve Him?

Practice

Offer a short prayer to Kṛṣṇa today, thanking Him for His kindness and asking to use your abilities in His service.

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 1.3.28

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

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Kindly Delivers and Empowers His DevoteesThis 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 4.30.24? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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