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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
4.31.54.31.7

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.31.6

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:All the Pracetāssince 4.31.5inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

यदादिष्टं भगवता शिवेनाधोक्षजेन च ।

तद् गृहेषु प्रसक्तानां प्रायश: क्षपितं प्रभो ॥ ६ ॥

yad ādiṣṭaṁ bhagavatā

śivenādhokṣajena ca

tad gṛheṣu prasaktānāṁ

prāyaśaḥ kṣapitaṁ prabho

Translation

O master, may we inform you that because of our being overly attached to family affairs, we almost forgot the instructions we received from Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Accept Necessities Without Excessive Attachment

  1. 1

    The Pracetās admitted that excessive attachment to family affairs had almost made them forget the instructions of Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu.

  2. 2

    One should become a gosvāmī, a controller of the senses. The senses should be used as much as necessary to maintain body and soul together, not simply for gratification.

  3. 3

    Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī recommends accepting what is required without attachment. Seeking enjoyment beyond necessity leads to attachment and bondage.

Key points from the purport
  • Remaining in family life is a kind of concession for sense enjoyment.
  • Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī recommends, anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ: one should not be attached to sense objects but should accept sense enjoyment as much as required, and no more.
  • If one wishes to enjoy the senses more than required, he becomes attached to family life, which means bondage.

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 4.31.6 quotesSB 1.2.10

As confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.10), kāmasya nendriya-prītiḥ.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yatwhat
  2. ādiṣṭamwas instructed
  3. bhagavatāby the exalted personality
  4. śivenaLord Śiva
  5. adhokṣajenaby Lord Viṣṇu
  6. caalso
  7. tatthat
  8. gṛheṣuto family affairs
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “attached”, “attachment”

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

Which unnecessary enjoyment most often distracts me from spiritual instructions?

Practice

Forgo one unnecessary indulgence today and reread a spiritual instruction you have been neglecting.

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.

The purport quotesSB 1.2.10

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.31's connections

Live this todayAccept Necessities Without Excessive AttachmentThis 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 4.31.6? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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