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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 8: Dhruva Mahārāja Leaves Home for the Forest
4.7.614.8.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.1

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.8.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

मैत्रेय उवाच

सनकाद्या नारदश्च ऋभुर्हंसोऽरुणिर्यति: ।

नैते गृहान् ब्रह्मसुता ह्यावसन्नूर्ध्वरेतस: ॥ १ ॥

maitreya uvāca

sanakādyā nāradaś ca

ṛbhur haṁso ’ruṇir yatiḥ

naite gṛhān brahma-sutā

hy āvasann ūrdhva-retasaḥ

Translation

The great sage Maitreya said: The four great Kumāra sages headed by Sanaka, as well as Nārada, Ṛbhu, Haṁsa, Aruṇi and Yati, all sons of Brahmā, did not live at home, but became ūrdhva-retā, or naiṣṭhika-brahmacārīs, unadulterated celibates.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Celibacy Supports Steady Spiritual Austerity

  1. 1

    The system of brahmacarya has existed since the birth of Brahmā. His sons headed by Sanaka and Nārada remained unmarried celibates.

  2. 2

    The purport describes this discipline as supporting steady austerity and progress toward spiritual perfection, even to the spiritual world.

  3. 3

    Here, “they did not live at home” means that they did not accept wives. A brahmacārī may live in a house without entering married household life.

Key points from the purport
  • One who lives with a wife lives at home; otherwise, a sannyāsī or brahmacārī, even though he may live in a room or in a house, does not live at home.
  • That they did not live at home means that they did not accept a wife, and so there was no question of their discharging semen.
  • Out of the many sons of Brahmā, the brahmacārī sons headed by Sanaka and Nārada did not marry at all, and therefore there is no question of narrating the history of their descendants.

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

Rejection → Transformed aspiration. A child's wounded pride is purified by divine encounter.

Chapters 8–12 of Canto 4: Dhruva seeks and encounters the Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 8: Dhruva Mahārāja Leaves Home for the Forest

Dhruva leaves home, receives Nārada’s instructions, and worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead with austerity.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.8
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. maitreyaḥ uvācaMaitreya said
  2. sanaka-ādyāḥthose headed by Sanaka
  3. nāradaḥNārada
  4. caand
  5. ṛbhuḥṚbhu
  6. haṁsaḥHaṁsa
  7. aruṇiḥAruṇi
  8. yatiḥYati
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “household”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How could greater self-restraint help me become steadier in spiritual life?

Practice

Choose one unnecessary sense pleasure to set aside today as a small exercise in self-restraint.

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 4.8's connections

Live this todayCelibacy Supports Steady Spiritual AusterityThis 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 4.8.1? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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