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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.
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Canto 4 · Chapter 8: Dhruva Mahārāja Leaves Home for the Forest
4.8.194.8.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.20

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sunītisince 4.8.20inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

यस्याङ्‌घ्रि पद्मं परिचर्य विश्व

विभावनायात्तगुणाभिपत्ते: ।

अजोऽध्यतिष्ठत्खलु पारमेष्ठ्यं

पदं जितात्मश्वसनाभिवन्द्यम् ॥ २० ॥

yasyāṅghri-padmaṁ paricarya viśva-

vibhāvanāyātta-guṇābhipatteḥ

ajo ’dhyatiṣṭhat khalu pārameṣṭhyaṁ

padaṁ jitātma-śvasanābhivandyam

Translation

Sunīti continued: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is so great that simply by worshiping His lotus feet, your great-grandfather, Lord Brahmā, acquired the necessary qualifications to create this universe. Although he is unborn and is the chief of all living creatures, he is situated in that exalted post because of the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whom even great yogīs worship by controlling the mind and regulating the life air [prāṇa].

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Effort Must Depend on the Lord’s Mercy

  1. 1

    Lord Brahmā, Dhruva Mahārāja’s great-grandfather, is also a living being. By penance and austerity, he received the exalted position of creator through the Supreme Lord’s mercy.

  2. 2

    By worshiping the Lord’s lotus feet, Brahmā acquired the qualifications needed to create the universe.

  3. 3

    Success requires not only penance and austerity but also dependence on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sunīti thus confirmed the instruction to worship Him.

Key points from the purport
  • Sunīti cited the example of Lord Brahmā, who was Dhruva Mahārāja’s great-grandfather.
  • Although Lord Brahmā is also a living being, by his penance and austerity he acquired the exalted position of creator of this universe by the mercy of the Supreme Lord.
  • To become successful in any attempt, one not only has to undergo severe penances and austerities, but also must be dependent on the mercy 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. yasyawhose
  2. aṅghrileg
  3. padmamlotus feet
  4. paricaryaworshiping
  5. viśvauniverse
  6. vibhāvanāyafor creating
  7. āttareceived
  8. guṇa-abhipatteḥfor acquiring the required qualifications
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “worshiping”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “mercy”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I depend only on my effort, or also seek the Supreme Lord’s mercy?

Practice

Before beginning one task today, offer a brief prayer acknowledging your dependence on the Supreme Lord’s mercy.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayEffort Must Depend on the Lord’s MercyThis 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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