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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

4.30.35 4.30.37

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.30.36

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

यत्र नारायण: साक्षाद्भगवान्न्यासिनां गति: ।

संस्तूयते सत्कथासु मुक्तसङ्गै: पुन: पुन: ॥ ३६ ॥

yatra nārāyaṇaḥ sākṣād

bhagavān nyāsināṁ gatiḥ

saṁstūyate sat-kathāsu

mukta-saṅgaiḥ punaḥ punaḥ

Translation

The Supreme Lord, Nārāyaṇa, is present among devotees who are engaged in hearing and chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Nārāyaṇa is the ultimate goal of sannyāsīs, those in the renounced order of life, and Nārāyaṇa is worshiped through this saṅkīrtana movement by those who are liberated from material contamination. Indeed, they recite the holy name again and again.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Please Nārāyaṇa Through Congregational Chanting

1
Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is personally present among devotees who hear and chant His holy name. Congregational chanting pleases and worships Him.
2
Nārāyaṇa is the ultimate goal of those in the renounced order of life. A Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī dedicates his life to serving Nārāyaṇa rather than claiming to be Nārāyaṇa.
3
Chanting and discussing the Lord’s activities makes one nonenvious and free from material hankering. Real peace and unity become possible when envy of the Supreme Lord ends.

Key points from the purport

In this Age of Kali, Nārāyaṇa is immediately present in the form of Lord Caitanya.
Whenever there is congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord, Gaura Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His incarnation as Lord Caitanya, immediately appears and is worshiped by saṅkīrtana-yajña.
Instead of becoming nirvaira (nonenvious of other living entities), one who tries to become Nārāyaṇa becomes envious of the Supreme Lord.

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· 1

The purport of SB 4.30.36 quotesSB 11.5.32

In this Age of Kali, Nārāyaṇa is immediately present in the form of Lord Caitanya.

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

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

yatrawhere
nārāyaṇaḥLord Nārāyaṇa
sākṣātdirectly
bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
nyāsināmof persons in the renounced order of life
gatiḥthe ultimate goal
saṁstūyateis worshiped
sat-kathāsuby discussing the transcendental vibration
mukta-saṅgaiḥby those who are liberated from material contamination
punaḥ punaḥagain and again

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”, “holy name”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.30
In this verse: “devotees”, “worshiped”, “worships”
Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment
Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 4.30
In this verse: “renounced”, “free from”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I approaching the Lord with a desire to serve Him?

Practice

Join another devotee in chanting the Lord’s holy names today, with the intention of pleasing Him.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 11.5.32

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

Live this todayPlease Nārāyaṇa Through Congregational ChantingThis 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 4.30.36? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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