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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
4.30.414.30.43

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.30.42

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
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

नम: समाय शुद्धाय पुरुषाय पराय च ।

वासुदेवाय सत्त्वाय तुभ्यं भगवते नम: ॥ ४२ ॥

namaḥ samāya śuddhāya

puruṣāya parāya ca

vāsudevāya sattvāya

tubhyaṁ bhagavate namaḥ

Translation

Dear Lord, You have no enemies or friends. Therefore You are equal to everyone. You cannot be contaminated by sinful activities, and Your transcendental form is always beyond the material creation. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead because You remain everywhere within all existence. You are consequently known as Vāsudeva. We offer You our respectful obeisances.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Vāsudeva Lives Everywhere, Yet Remains Pure

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is called Vāsudeva because He lives everywhere. He enters every universe, every living being’s heart and every atom.

  2. 2

    Although the Lord lives within the material world, the modes of material nature never contaminate Him. He is equal to everyone, having no one as His enemy or favored friend.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has a transcendental form. We should not think that His body is material like ours.

Key points from the purport
  • Because the Supreme Lord lives everywhere, He is known as Vāsudeva.
  • The Lord is therefore described in Īśopaniṣad as apāpa-viddham: He is never contaminated by the modes of material nature.
  • One should not think that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has a material body, like ours.

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 4.30.42 quotesBG 9.29

In this regard, He states in Bhagavad-gītā (9.29), samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ: the Lord has no one as His friend or enemy, and He is equal to everyone.

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. namaḥwe offer our respectful obeisances
  2. samāyawho is equal to everyone
  3. śuddhāyawho is never contaminated by sinful activities
  4. puruṣāyaunto the Supreme Person
  5. parāyatranscendental
  6. caalso
  7. vāsudevāyaliving everywhere
  8. sattvāyawho is in the transcendental position
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “sinful”, “contaminated”, “contaminate”

  • Sakhya · Sacred friendship

    The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “friends”, “friend”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

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 might remembering the Lord’s presence in every heart change the way I regard others?

Practice

Offer respectful obeisances to Vāsudeva today, remembering that He is present everywhere and always pure.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayVāsudeva Lives Everywhere, Yet Remains PureThis 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.

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