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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
4.7.454.7.47

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.7.46

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
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

त्वं पुरा गां रसाया महासूकरो

दंष्ट्रया पद्मिनीं वारणेन्द्रो यथा ।

स्तूयमानो नदल्लीलया योगिभि-

र्व्युज्जहर्थ त्रयीगात्र यज्ञक्रतु: ॥ ४६ ॥

tvaṁ purā gāṁ rasāyā mahā-sūkaro

daṁṣṭrayā padminīṁ vāraṇendro yathā

stūyamāno nadal līlayā yogibhir

vyujjahartha trayī-gātra yajña-kratuḥ

Translation

Dear Lord, O personified Vedic knowledge, in the past millennium, long, long ago, when You appeared as the great boar incarnation, You picked up the world from the water, as an elephant picks up a lotus flower from a lake. When You vibrated transcendental sound in that gigantic form of a boar, the sound was accepted as a sacrificial hymn, and great sages like Sanaka meditated upon it and offered prayers for Your glorification.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Serving Kṛṣṇa Fulfills Vedic Knowledge

  1. 1

    The Lord’s transcendental form is personified Vedic knowledge. In His great boar form, His sound was accepted as a sacrificial hymn.

  2. 2

    Even a beginner who worships the Deity is in direct touch with the purport of Vedic knowledge. Decorating Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa is a way of closely studying the Vedic injunctions.

  3. 3

    The purpose of the Vedas is to understand Kṛṣṇa. One who directly worships and serves Him has understood their truths.

Key points from the purport
  • A significant word used in this verse is trayī-gātra, which means that the transcendental form of the Lord is the Vedas.
  • Anyone who engages in the worship of the Deity, or the form of the Lord in the temple, is understood to be studying all the Vedas twenty-four hours a day.
  • Even a neophyte devotee who simply engages in the worship of the Deity is understood to be in direct touch with the purport of Vedic knowledge.

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 4.7.46 quotesBG 15.15

As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: the purport of the Vedas is to understand Him, Kṛṣṇa.

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

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. tvamYou
  2. purāin the past
  3. gāmthe earth
  4. rasāyāḥfrom within the water
  5. mahā-sūkaraḥthe great boar incarnation
  6. daṁṣṭrayāwith Your tusk
  7. padminīma lotus
  8. vāraṇa-indraḥan elephant
3

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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 4.7

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understand”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

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

    In this verse: “glorification”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “worships”

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 might remembering the purpose of the Vedas deepen your approach to worship?

Practice

Read the translation slowly and offer a short prayer glorifying the Lord’s transcendental form.

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.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.7's connections

Live this todayServing Kṛṣṇa Fulfills Vedic KnowledgeThis 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 4.7.46? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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