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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
4.8.234.8.25

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.24

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.8.24inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

मैत्रेय उवाच

एवं सञ्जल्पितं मातुराकर्ण्यार्थागमं वच: ।

सन्नियम्यात्मनात्मानं निश्चक्राम पितु: पुरात् ॥ २४ ॥

maitreya uvāca

evaṁ sañjalpitaṁ mātur

ākarṇyārthāgamaṁ vacaḥ

sanniyamyātmanātmānaṁ

niścakrāma pituḥ purāt

Translation

The great sage Maitreya continued: The instruction of Dhruva Mahārāja’s mother, Sunīti, was actually meant for fulfilling his desired objective. Therefore, after deliberate consideration and with intelligence and fixed determination, he left his father’s house.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Turn Lamentation Into Determined Spiritual Action

  1. 1

    Dhruva carefully considered his mother’s purposeful advice. With intelligence and fixed determination, he left his father’s house.

  2. 2

    Mere lamentation is useless; one should seek the means to relieve it. Mother and son decided to take shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet as the solution to material problems.

  3. 3

    Dhruva went to a secluded place to seek the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The purport also praises taking shelter of Vṛndāvana under Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

Key points from the purport
  • Both the mother and the son were lamenting Dhruva Mahārāja’s having been insulted by his stepmother and his father’s not having taken any step on this issue.
  • Thus both mother and son decided to take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord because that is the only solution to all material problems.
  • It is indicated in this connection that Dhruva Mahārāja left his father’s capital city to go to a secluded place to search out 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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. maitreyaḥ uvācathe great sage Maitreya said
  2. evamthus
  3. sañjalpitamspoken together
  4. mātuḥfrom the mother
  5. ākarṇyahearing
  6. artha-āgamampurposeful
  7. vacaḥwords
  8. sanniyamyacontrolling
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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

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

    In this verse: “mother”, “father’s”, “mother’s”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “shelter”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where could I replace repeated lamentation with a determined step toward the Lord?

Practice

Spend a quiet minute today seeking shelter of the Supreme Lord rather than rehearsing one troubling event.

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 todayTurn Lamentation Into Determined Spiritual ActionThis 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 4.8.24? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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