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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 31: Nārada Instructs the Pracetās
4.31.164.31.18

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.31.17

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 4.31.9inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

यथा नभस्यभ्रतम:प्रकाशा

भवन्ति भूपा न भवन्त्यनुक्रमात् ।

एवं परे ब्रह्मणि शक्तयस्त्वमू

रजस्तम:सत्त्वमिति प्रवाह: ॥ १७ ॥

yathā nabhasy abhra-tamaḥ-prakāśā

bhavanti bhūpā na bhavanty anukramāt

evaṁ pare brahmaṇi śaktayas tv amū

rajas tamaḥ sattvam iti pravāhaḥ

Translation

My dear Kings, sometimes in the sky there are clouds, sometimes there is darkness, and sometimes there is illumination. The appearance of all these takes place consecutively. Similarly, in the Supreme Absolute, the modes of passion, darkness and goodness appear as consecutive energies. Sometimes they appear, and sometimes they disappear.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Remains Beyond Material Changes

  1. 1

    Clouds, darkness and illumination appear and disappear, but the sun remains unaffected. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is unaffected by changes in His material energies.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Godhead, with an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the shelter of everything and the cause of all causes.

  3. 3

    Material nature is the immediate cause of the cosmic manifestation, but it works under the Supreme Lord’s direction. Like a potter who supplies the earth and moves the wheel, the Lord is the original cause.

Key points from the purport
  • Similarly, although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original cause of the total cosmic manifestation, He is unaffected by the material existence.
  • The conclusion is that nature is not the cause of the material manifestation.
  • The Supreme Lord is the cause of all causes.

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 4.31.17 quotesBG 7.4

This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4): “Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego — all together these eight comprise My separated material energies.”

The purport of SB 4.31.17 quotesBG 9.10

In Bhagavad-gītā (9.10) the Lord therefore says: “This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and producing all moving and unmoving beings.”

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 31: Nārada Instructs the Pracetās

The Pracetās leave home and receive Nārada’s instructions on satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.31
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yathāas
  2. nabhasiin the sky
  3. abhraclouds
  4. tamaḥdarkness
  5. prakāśāḥand illumination
  6. bhavantiexist
  7. bhū-pāḥO Kings
  8. na bhavantido not appear
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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.31

    In this verse: “kings”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.31

    In this verse: “material”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 4.31

    In this verse: “shelter”

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 see material nature as independent, or as working under the Supreme Lord’s direction?

Practice

Observe one change in nature today and pause to remember that Kṛṣṇa, its original cause, remains unaffected by material changes.

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 4.31's connections

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Remains Beyond Material ChangesThis 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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