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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
4.8.354.8.37

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.36

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Dhruva Mahārājasince 4.8.35inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

अथापि मेऽविनीतस्य क्षात्‍त्रं घोरमुपेयुष: ।

सुरुच्या दुर्वचोबाणैर्न भिन्ने श्रयते हृदि ॥ ३६ ॥

athāpi me ’vinītasya

kṣāttraṁ ghoram upeyuṣaḥ

surucyā durvaco-bāṇair

na bhinne śrayate hṛdi

Translation

My dear lord, I am very impudent for not accepting your instructions, but this is not my fault. It is due to my having been born in a kṣatriya family. My stepmother, Suruci, has pierced my heart with her harsh words. Therefore your valuable instruction does not stand in my heart.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Spiritual Training Considers Each Person's Tendencies

  1. 1

    Dhruva Mahārāja felt deeply wounded by Suruci's harsh words. His desire to counteract her insult made Nārada's valuable instruction difficult for him to accept.

  2. 2

    Dhruva frankly admitted his lack of brahminical humility and his strong kṣatriya temperament. A teacher should observe a child's tendencies and train that child accordingly.

  3. 3

    The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is open to everyone and offers training in brahminical qualifications. Such training is needed to raise society to spiritual consciousness.

Key points from the purport
  • Dhruva Mahārāja indirectly informed the great sage Nārada that there are four kinds of human spirit — the brahminical spirit, the kṣatriya spirit, the vaiśya spirit and the śūdra spirit.
  • Dhruva Mahārāja, having already been trained in the kṣatriya spirit, would not accept the brahminical philosophy.
  • That the boys do not have the kṣatriya spirit does not mean that they are trained in brahminical qualities; they are trained as śūdras, and thus in frustration they are becoming hippies.

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. atha apitherefore
  2. memy
  3. avinītasyanot very submissive
  4. kṣāttramthe spirit of a kṣatriya
  5. ghoramintolerant
  6. upeyuṣaḥachieved
  7. surucyāḥof Queen Suruci
  8. durvacaḥharsh words
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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

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “humility”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

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

    In this verse: “child's”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What tendencies or hurts make it difficult for me to receive spiritual instruction?

Practice

Write down one personal tendency you would honestly explain when seeking guidance from a spiritual teacher.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySpiritual Training Considers Each Person's TendenciesThis 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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