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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.7.39

Who is speaking and story frame

जगदुद्भवस्थितिलयेषु दैवतो

बहुभिद्यमानगुणयात्ममायया ।

रचितात्मभेदमतये स्वसंस्थया

विनिवर्तितभ्रमगुणात्मने नम: ॥ ३९ ॥

jagad-udbhava-sthiti-layeṣu daivato

bahu-bhidyamāna-guṇayātma-māyayā

racitātma-bheda-mataye sva-saṁsthayā

vinivartita-bhrama-guṇātmane namaḥ

Translation

We offer our respectful obeisances unto the Supreme, who has created varieties of manifestations and put them under the spell of the three qualities of the material world in order to create, maintain and annihilate them. He Himself is not under the control of the external energy: in His personal feature He is completely devoid of the variegated manifestation of material qualities, and He is under no illusion of false identification.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Supreme Lord Is Beyond Material Qualities

  1. 1

    The three material qualities govern creation, maintenance and annihilation. In Goloka, the Lord’s own abode, everything is eternal, sentient and blissful.

  2. 2

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead appears by His internal potency, never under the control of material qualities. Both His internal and external energies remain under His control.

  3. 3

    Conditioned souls are pulled by the actions and reactions of material qualities. Anyone engaged in the Lord’s service is transcendental to their interaction and fixed in worship of the Supreme Lord.

Key points from the purport
  • They are under the impression that when the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears He is under the spell of the three qualities, like all the other living entities who appear within this material world.
  • But when one is transcendental or surpasses the material qualities, he is simply fixed in the worship of the Supreme Personality.
  • The summary is that the conditioned souls are being pulled by the action and reaction of the material qualities, which create a differentiation of energies, but in the spiritual world the worshipable one is the Supreme Lord and no one else.

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

Humiliation and anger → Reconciliation. Relational offense leads to grief and destruction before restoration.

Chapters 1–7 of Canto 4: Dakṣa, Satī and Śiva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 7: The Sacrifice Performed by Dakṣa

Lord Śiva is pacified, Dakṣa acknowledges his offense, and Lord Viṣṇu accepts the sacrifice.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.7
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. jagatthe material world
  2. udbhavacreation
  3. sthitimaintenance
  4. layeṣuin annihilation
  5. daivataḥdestiny
  6. bahumany
  7. bhidyamānabeing variegated
  8. guṇayāby material qualities
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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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.7

    In this verse: “illusion”, “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.7

    In this verse: “worship”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.7

    In this verse: “govern”

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 can remembering that the Lord is beyond material qualities deepen my trust in Him?

Practice

Offer respectful obeisances to the Supreme Lord today, remembering that His form and qualities are transcendental.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Supreme Lord Is Beyond Material QualitiesThis 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 4.7.39? Get an answer from the verses themselves.