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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 7: The Sacrifice Performed by Dakṣa
4.7.394.7.41

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.7.40

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The personified Vedassince 4.7.40inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

ब्रह्मोवाच

नमस्ते श्रितसत्त्वाय धर्मादीनां च सूतये ।

निर्गुणाय च यत्काष्ठां नाहं वेदापरेऽपि च ॥ ४० ॥

brahmovāca

namas te śrita-sattvāya

dharmādīnāṁ ca sūtaye

nirguṇāya ca yat-kāṣṭhāṁ

nāhaṁ vedāpare ’pi ca

Translation

The personified Vedas said: We offer our respectful obeisances unto You, the Lord, the shelter of the quality of goodness and therefore the source of all religion, austerity and penance, for You are transcendental to all material qualities and no one knows You or Your actual situation.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Reveals the Lord

  1. 1

    Lord Viṣṇu oversees the quality of goodness, which supports religion, knowledge, austerity and peace. Passion and ignorance make conditioned life intolerable.

  2. 2

    Lord Viṣṇu is always nirguṇa, beyond material qualities. This does not mean He has no qualities; His qualities and pastimes are transcendental.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s transcendental qualities are revealed to devotees through devotional service. Goodness allows partial understanding, but one must transcend all three material qualities to reach pure spiritual life.

Key points from the purport
  • In the material world there is the trinity of the three material qualities.
  • But Lord Viṣṇu, in His original position, is always nirguṇa, which means transcendental to these material qualities.
  • Actually, the transcendental qualities are manifested only to the devotees.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. brahmathe personified Vedas
  2. uvācasaid
  3. namaḥrespectful obeisances
  4. teunto You
  5. śrita-sattvāyathe shelter of the quality of goodness
  6. dharma-ādīnāmof all religion, austerity and penance
  7. caand
  8. sūtayethe source
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 4.7

    In this verse: “religion”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotees”

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 goodness as a support for devotional service, rather than the final goal?

Practice

Offer a short prayer to Lord Viṣṇu, asking to understand Him through devotional service.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Service Reveals the LordThis 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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