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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
4.30.474.30.49

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.30.48

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.30.43inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

ते च ब्रह्मण आदेशान्मारिषामुपयेमिरे ।

यस्यां महदवज्ञानादजन्यजनयोनिज: ॥ ४८ ॥

te ca brahmaṇa ādeśān

māriṣām upayemire

yasyāṁ mahad-avajñānād

ajany ajana-yonijaḥ

Translation

Following the order of Lord Brahmā, all the Pracetās accepted the girl as their wife. From the womb of this girl, the son of Lord Brahmā named Dakṣa took birth. Dakṣa had to take birth from the womb of Māriṣā due to his disobeying and disrespecting Lord Mahādeva [Śiva]. Consequently he had to give up his body twice.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Disrespect Has Consequences Beyond This Life

  1. 1

    Following Lord Brahmā’s order, the Pracetās accepted Māriṣā as their wife. Dakṣa, previously the son of Lord Brahmā, took birth from her womb.

  2. 2

    Dakṣa’s disrespect toward Lord Śiva brought the consequences of losing his body and taking birth again. Although born a brāhmaṇa previously, his conduct did not befit that position.

  3. 3

    Dakṣa nevertheless received opulence through Lord Śiva’s grace. The purport emphasizes the subtle laws of material nature and the importance of understanding the soul’s eternity and transmigration.

Key points from the purport
  • But because of his behaving like a non- brāhmaṇa (abrāhmaṇa) by insulting or disrespecting Lord Mahādeva, he had to take birth within the semen of a kṣatriya — that is to say, he became the son of the Pracetās.
  • Not only that, but because of his disrespecting Lord Śiva, he had to undergo the tribulation of taking birth from within the womb of a woman.
  • Although he had to give up his body and take birth from the womb of a woman impregnated by the semen of a kṣatriya, he received all opulence by the grace of Lord Śiva.

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 4.30.48 quotesSB 1.1.10

Because of this, it is said in Bhāgavatam (1.1.10), mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ: the total population in this Age of Kali-yuga is very bad, lazy, unfortunate and disturbed by material conditions.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. teall the Pracetās
  2. caalso
  3. brahmaṇaḥof Lord Brahmā
  4. ādeśātby the order
  5. māriṣāmMāriṣā
  6. upayemiremarried
  7. yasyāmin whom
  8. mahatto a great personality
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

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “give up”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “grace”

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 my words and actions show respect, or do I rely on my position to excuse poor conduct?

Practice

Review one comment you plan to make today and remove any needless insult or disrespect.

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 todayDisrespect Has Consequences Beyond This LifeThis 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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