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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
4.31.74.31.9

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.31.8

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.31.8inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

मैत्रेय उवाच

इति प्रचेतसां पृष्टो भगवान्नारदो मुनि: ।

भगवत्युत्तमश्लोक आविष्टात्माब्रवीन्नृपान् ॥ ८ ॥

maitreya uvāca

iti pracetasāṁ pṛṣṭo

bhagavān nārado muniḥ

bhagavaty uttama-śloka

āviṣṭātmābravīn nṛpān

Translation

The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, being thus petitioned by the Pracetās, the supreme devotee Nārada, who is always absorbed in thoughts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, began to reply.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Keep Kṛṣṇa Within the Heart

  1. 1

    Nārada is always absorbed in thinking of Kṛṣṇa, talking of Kṛṣṇa and preaching about Kṛṣṇa. In this absorption, he began answering the Pracetās.

  2. 2

    Bhagavān means one who possesses all opulences. A great devotee like Nārada is sometimes called bhagavān because he constantly possesses the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart.

  3. 3

    This honor does not mean that the spiritual master has become the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It rests on constant absorption in Kṛṣṇa, not on an empty claim.

Key points from the purport
  • In this verse bhagavān nāradaḥ indicates that Nārada is always absorbed in thoughts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (bhagavaty uttama-śloka āviṣṭātmā).
  • This does not mean that the spiritual master or a saintly person like Nārada has actually become the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but he is accepted in this way because he possesses the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart constantly.
  • One must possess either all opulences or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān, who possesses all opulences.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. maitreyaḥ uvācaMaitreya said
  2. itithus
  3. pracetasāmby the Pracetās
  4. pṛṣṭaḥbeing asked
  5. bhagavānthe great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  6. nāradaḥNārada
  7. muniḥvery thoughtful
  8. bhagavatiin the Supreme Personality of Godhead
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.31

    In this verse: “devotee”

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 place do thinking and speaking about Kṛṣṇa have in my day?

Practice

Spend two minutes thinking about Kṛṣṇa and put one thought about Him into words.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKeep Kṛṣṇa Within the HeartThis 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 4.31.8? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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