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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
4.8.14.8.3

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.2

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
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

मृषाधर्मस्य भार्यासीद्दम्भं मायां च शत्रुहन् ।

असूत मिथुनं तत्तु निऋर्तिर्जगृहेऽप्रज: ॥ २ ॥

mṛṣādharmasya bhāryāsīd

dambhaṁ māyāṁ ca śatru-han

asūta mithunaṁ tat tu

nirṛtir jagṛhe ’prajaḥ

Translation

Another son of Lord Brahmā was Irreligion, whose wife’s name was Falsity. From their combination were born two demons named Dambha, or Bluffing, and Māyā, or Cheating. These two demons were taken by a demon named Nirṛti, who had no children.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Karma Continues Across Births and Creations

  1. 1

    Irreligion and Falsity produced Dambha, or Bluffing, and Māyā, or Cheating. The childless Nirṛti took these two offspring.

  2. 2

    Brahmā produced both saintly and demoniac offspring. Their different capacities reflected their own previous activities and association.

  3. 3

    The law of karma continues birth after birth, even into a new creation. Having Brahmā as their father did not remove the living entities’ different karmic backgrounds.

Key points from the purport
  • It is understood herein that Adharma, Irreligion, was also a son of Brahmā, and he married his sister Mṛṣā.
  • It is understood that in the beginning of creation Brahmā created not only saintly sons like Sanaka, Sanātana and Nārada but also demoniac offspring like Nirṛti, Adharma, Dambha and Falsity.
  • They are born in different capacities according to karma even though their father is originally Brahmā, who is the exalted qualitative incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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. mṛṣāMṛṣā
  2. adharmasyaof Irreligion
  3. bhāryāwife
  4. āsītwas
  5. dambhamBluffing
  6. māyāmCheating
  7. caand
  8. śatru-hanO slayer of enemies
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Visarga · Subcreation

    How do living beings and their worlds appear? · Subject 2 of 10

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “children”, “father”, “childless”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “māyā”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What kinds of actions and association am I choosing to shape my future?

Practice

Notice one opportunity to bluff or mislead today, and choose an honest response instead.

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 todayKarma Continues Across Births and CreationsThis 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 4.8.2? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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