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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
4.31.254.31.27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.31.26

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 4.31.26inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

श्रीशुक उवाच

य एष उत्तानपदो मानवस्यानुवर्णित: ।

वंश: प्रियव्रतस्यापि निबोध नृपसत्तम ॥ २६ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca

ya eṣa uttānapado

mānavasyānuvarṇitaḥ

vaṁśaḥ priyavratasyāpi

nibodha nṛpa-sattama

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: O best of kings [King Parīkṣit], I have now finished telling about the descendants of the first son of Svāyambhuva Manu, Uttānapāda. I shall now try to relate the activities of the descendants of Priyavrata, the second son of Svāyambhuva Manu. Please hear them attentively.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hear the Narration Attentively

  1. 1

    Śukadeva Gosvāmī completed the account of the descendants of Uttānapāda, the first son of Svāyambhuva Manu.

  2. 2

    Dhruva Mahārāja was Uttānapāda’s son. The activities of this line had been described up to the Pracetās.

  3. 3

    Śukadeva Gosvāmī then turned to the descendants of Priyavrata, the second son of Svāyambhuva Manu. He asked King Parīkṣit to hear attentively.

Key points from the purport
  • Dhruva Mahārāja was the son of King Uttānapāda, and as far as the descendants of Dhruva Mahārāja or King Uttānapāda are concerned, their activities have been described up to the point of the Pracetās.
  • Now Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī desires to describe the descendants of Mahārāja Priyavrata, the second son of Svāyambhuva Manu.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-śukaḥ uvācaŚrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
  2. yaḥwhich
  3. eṣaḥthis dynasty
  4. uttānapadaḥof King Uttānapāda
  5. mānavasyathe son of Svāyambhuva Manu
  6. anuvarṇitaḥdescribed, following in the footprints of previous ācāryas
  7. vaṁśaḥdynasty
  8. priyavratasyaof King Priyavrata
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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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.31

    In this verse: “kings”, “king”

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

What helps me hear a sacred narration attentively?

Practice

Put aside distractions and reread this verse slowly, noting the transition between the two family lines.

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 todayHear the Narration AttentivelyThis 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 4.31.26? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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