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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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
4.30.304.30.32

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.30.31

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
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

वरं वृणीमहेऽथापि नाथ त्वत्परत: परात् ।

न ह्यन्तस्त्वद्विभूतीनां सोऽनन्त इति गीयसे ॥ ३१ ॥

varaṁ vṛṇīmahe ’thāpi

nātha tvat parataḥ parāt

na hy antas tvad-vibhūtīnāṁ

so ’nanta iti gīyase

Translation

Dear Lord, we shall therefore pray for Your benediction because You are the Supreme, beyond all transcendence, and because there is no end to Your opulences. Consequently, You are celebrated by the name Ananta.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Seek the Unlimited Lord’s Association

  1. 1

    A devotee is satisfied simply by the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Being with Him and engaging in His service is the devotee’s ultimate goal and benediction.

  2. 2

    The Lord is called Ananta because His opulences have no end. Association with Bhagavān is higher than realization of impersonal Brahman or Paramātmā.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s names, forms, qualities and pastimes are unlimited. By hearing and chanting about His unlimited potencies, living entities become directly connected with the unlimited Lord.

Key points from the purport
  • There was no need for the Pracetās to ask any benediction from the Supreme Lord because the devotees are simply satisfied by the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead is parataḥ parāt.
  • Merging into the impersonal effulgence of the Lord is called paraṁ padam, but there is a higher transcendental position, which is the association of 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 4.30.31 quotesSB 10.2.32

Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam. Merging into the impersonal effulgence of the Lord is called paraṁ padam, but there is a higher transcendental position, which is the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The purport of SB 4.30.31 quotesSB 1.2.11

Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate: the Absolute Truth is realized first as impersonal Brahman, then as Paramātmā, and finally as Bhagavān.

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. varambenediction
  2. vṛṇīmahewe shall pray for
  3. atha apitherefore
  4. nāthaO Lord
  5. tvatfrom You
  6. parataḥ parātbeyond the transcendence
  7. nanot
  8. hicertainly
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “chanting”, “hearing”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotee”

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 seek the Lord’s association and service, or mainly blessings from Him?

Practice

Spend a few minutes today hearing or chanting about the Lord’s names, qualities or pastimes.

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 10.2.32

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

Live this todaySeek the Unlimited Lord’s AssociationThis 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 4.30.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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