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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
4.8.154.8.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.16

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.8.14inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

सोत्सृज्य धैर्यं विललाप शोक

दावाग्निना दावलतेव बाला ।

वाक्यं सपत्‍न्या: स्मरती सरोज

श्रिया द‍ृशा बाष्पकलामुवाह ॥ १६ ॥

sotsṛjya dhairyaṁ vilalāpa śoka-

dāvāgninā dāva-lateva bālā

vākyaṁ sapatnyāḥ smaratī saroja-

śriyā dṛśā bāṣpa-kalām uvāha

Translation

This incident was unbearable to Sunīti’s patience. She began to burn as if in a forest fire, and in her grief she became just like a burnt leaf and so lamented. As she remembered the words of her co-wife, her bright, lotuslike face filled with tears, and thus she spoke.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Harsh Words Burn Like Fire

  1. 1

    Sunīti found the incident unbearable and began to lament.

  2. 2

    The purport compares deep grief to being a burnt leaf in a forest fire.

  3. 3

    Although Sunīti’s face was beautiful like a lotus, it dried up from the burning grief caused by her co-wife’s harsh words.

Key points from the purport
  • When a man is aggrieved, he feels exactly like a burnt leaf in a forest fire.
  • Although her face was as beautiful as a lotus flower, it dried up because of the burning fire caused by the harsh words of her co-wife.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sāshe
  2. utsṛjyagiving up
  3. dhairyampatience
  4. vilalāpalamented
  5. śoka-dāva-agnināby the fire of grief
  6. dāva-latā ivalike burnt leaves
  7. bālāthe woman
  8. vākyamwords
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

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “lamented”, “lament”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I remember how deeply harsh speech can wound another person?

Practice

Replace one harsh remark you are tempted to make today with gentle words.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayHarsh Words Burn Like FireThis 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 4.8.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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