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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
4.7.444.7.46

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.7.45

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The brāhmaṇassince 4.7.45inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

ब्राह्मणा ऊचु:

त्वं क्रतुस्त्वं हविस्त्वं हुताश: स्वयंत्वं हि मन्त्र: समिद्दर्भपात्राणि च । त्वं सदस्यर्त्विजो दम्पती देवताअग्निहोत्रं स्वधा सोम आज्यं पशु: ॥ ४५ ॥

brāhmaṇā ūcuḥ

tvaṁ kratus tvaṁ havis tvaṁ hutāśaḥ svayaṁ

tvaṁ hi mantraḥ samid-darbha-pātrāṇi ca

tvaṁ sadasyartvijo dampatī devatā

agnihotraṁ svadhā soma ājyaṁ paśuḥ

Translation

The brāhmaṇas said: Dear Lord, You are sacrifice personified. You are the offering of clarified butter, You are the fire, You are the chanting of Vedic hymns by which the sacrifice is conducted, You are the fuel, You are the flame, You are the kuśa grass, and You are the sacrificial pots. You are the priests who perform the yajña, You are the demigods headed by Indra, and You are the sacrificial animal. Everything that is sacrificed is You or Your energy.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Everything Is Kṛṣṇa and His Energy

  1. 1

    Everything in the material and spiritual worlds is a manifestation of energies from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is the sacrifice, its offerings and its utensils.

  2. 2

    Chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa performs all kinds of yajña in this age. There is no need to arrange elaborate sacrificial materials.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa retains His personal identity while His energies spread throughout creation. He and His energies are simultaneously one and different.

Key points from the purport
  • The brāhmaṇas’ statement is that Lord Viṣṇu is everything — the fire, the offering, the clarified butter, the utensils, the place of sacrifice and the kuśa.
  • Thus, since everything is a manifestation of His energy, it is to be understood that everything is Kṛṣṇa.
  • One should not misunderstand that because everything is Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa has no personal identity.

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. brāhmaṇāḥthe brāhmaṇas
  2. ūcuḥsaid
  3. tvamYou
  4. kratuḥsacrifice
  5. tvamYou
  6. haviḥoffering of clarified butter
  7. tvamYou
  8. huta-āśaḥfire
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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 4.7

    In this verse: “chanting”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

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 could seeing things as Kṛṣṇa’s energy change the way you use them?

Practice

Chant once attentively: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayEverything Is Kṛṣṇa and His EnergyThis 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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