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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
4.30.64.30.8

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.30.7

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.30.3inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

पीनायताष्टभुजमण्डलमध्यलक्ष्म्या

स्पर्धच्छ्रिया परिवृतो वनमालयाद्य: ।

बर्हिष्मत: पुरुष आह सुतान् प्रपन्नान्

पर्जन्यनादरुतया सघृणावलोक: ॥ ७ ॥

pīnāyatāṣṭa-bhuja-maṇḍala-madhya-lakṣmyā

spardhac-chriyā parivṛto vana-mālayādyaḥ

barhiṣmataḥ puruṣa āha sutān prapannān

parjanya-nāda-rutayā saghṛṇāvalokaḥ

Translation

Around the neck of the Personality of Godhead hung a flower garland that reached to His knees. His eight stout and elongated arms were decorated with that garland, which challenged the beauty of the goddess of fortune. With a merciful glance and a voice like thunder, the Lord addressed the sons of King Prācīnabarhiṣat, who were very much surrendered unto Him.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Original Supreme Person

  1. 1

    The Lord, adorned with a long flower garland, glanced mercifully at the surrendered sons of King Prācīnabarhiṣat. He addressed them in a voice like thunder.

  2. 2

    The word ādyaḥ identifies the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the origin even of Paramātmā and Brahman. The Absolute Truth begins with the original person, Kṛṣṇa, not with impersonal Brahman.

  3. 3

    The Supreme Lord has no cause, yet He is the cause of all causes. Everything comes from Him, so the Absolute Truth is a person.

Key points from the purport
  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin even of Paramātmā and Brahman.
  • As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.27), brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham: the Absolute Truth begins not with the impersonal Brahman but with the original Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.
  • The Absolute Truth is therefore a person and is not impersonal.

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 4.30.7 quotesBG 14.27

As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.27), brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham: the Absolute Truth begins not with the impersonal Brahman but with the original Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.

The purport of SB 4.30.7 quotesBG 10.12

You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty.”

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. pīnastout
  2. āyatalong
  3. aṣṭaeight
  4. bhujaarms
  5. maṇḍalaencirclement
  6. madhyain the midst of
  7. lakṣmyāwith the goddess of fortune
  8. spardhatcontending
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

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “merciful”, “mercifully”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “king”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 4.30

    In this verse: “surrendered”

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 knowing Kṛṣṇa as the original person shape my approach to Him?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer acknowledging Kṛṣṇa as the cause of all causes and expressing your wish to surrender to Him.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the Original Supreme PersonThis 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 4.30.7? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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