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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
4.8.274.8.29

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.28

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 4.8.27inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

विकल्पे विद्यमानेऽपि न ह्यसन्तोषहेतव: ।

पुंसो मोहमृते भिन्ना यल्लोके निजकर्मभि: ॥ २८ ॥

vikalpe vidyamāne ’pi

na hy asantoṣa-hetavaḥ

puṁso moham ṛte bhinnā

yal loke nija-karmabhiḥ

Translation

My dear Dhruva, if you feel that your sense of honor has been insulted, you still have no cause for dissatisfaction. This kind of dissatisfaction is another feature of the illusory energy; every living entity is controlled by his previous actions, and therefore there are different varieties of life for enjoying or suffering.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Soul Is Beyond Honor and Dishonor

  1. 1

    Nārada explained that dissatisfaction over injured honor is a feature of illusion. Different conditions of enjoyment and suffering arise from previous actions.

  2. 2

    The living spirit soul is uncontaminated by material association, although previous fruitive actions bring different material bodies. Understanding that the soul has no affinity for material suffering or enjoyment marks liberation.

  3. 3

    On the transcendental platform, one neither laments nor hankers. Nārada urged Dhruva to apply this understanding rather than be moved by honor or dishonor.

Key points from the purport
  • In the Vedas it is said that the living entity is always uncontaminated and unaffected by material association.
  • The living entity gets different types of material bodies because of his previous fruitive actions.
  • He should have known that honor and dishonor are both destined only by one’s previous actions; therefore one should not be sorry or happy under any circumstances.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 4.8.28 quotesBG 18.54

It is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.54), brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā: when one is actually situated on the transcendental platform, he has nothing for which to lament and nothing for which to hanker.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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. vikalpealternation
  2. vidyamāne apialthough there is
  3. nanot
  4. hicertainly
  5. asantoṣadissatisfaction
  6. hetavaḥcauses
  7. puṁsaḥof the persons
  8. moham ṛtewithout being illusioned
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “spirit soul”, “understanding”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “illusion”, “material”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “suffering”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might remembering that I am a spirit soul change my response to an insult?

Practice

If praise or insult unsettles you today, pause and reflect that neither defines you as a spirit soul.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Soul Is Beyond Honor and DishonorThis 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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