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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
4.8.414.8.43

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.42

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 4.8.40inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

तत्तात गच्छ भद्रं ते यमुनायास्तटं शुचि ।

पुण्यं मधुवनं यत्र सान्निध्यं नित्यदा हरे: ॥ ४२ ॥

tat tāta gaccha bhadraṁ te

yamunāyās taṭaṁ śuci

puṇyaṁ madhuvanaṁ yatra

sānnidhyaṁ nityadā hareḥ

Translation

My dear boy, I therefore wish all good fortune for you. You should go to the bank of the Yamunā, where there is a virtuous forest named Madhuvana, and there be purified. Just by going there, one draws nearer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who always lives there.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Holy Places Help Devotional Life

  1. 1

    Nārada Muni directed Dhruva Mahārāja to Madhuvana on the bank of the Yamunā to begin meditation and worship. This sacred place offers special help in approaching the Supreme Lord.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa lives everywhere, but holy places make Him especially easy to approach because great sages live there. He lives wherever His devotees chant the glories of His transcendental activities.

  3. 3

    Living in a holy place and performing devotional service is recommended for those not yet very advanced. An advanced devotee like Nārada Muni can serve the Lord anywhere.

Key points from the purport
  • Both Nārada Muni and Sunīti, the mother of Dhruva Mahārāja, advised Dhruva Mahārāja to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa lives everywhere, but still it is very easy to approach Him in holy places of pilgrimage because these places are inhabited by great sages.
  • But an advanced devotee like Nārada Muni who is engaged in preaching work can serve the Supreme Lord anywhere.

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. tatthat
  2. tātamy dear son
  3. gacchago
  4. bhadramgood fortune
  5. tefor you
  6. yamunāyāḥof the Yamunā
  7. taṭambank
  8. śucibeing purified
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotees”, “worship”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “purified”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “chant”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How could spending time where devotees glorify Kṛṣṇa help my devotional life?

Practice

Spend a few minutes today joining or listening to devotees chanting Kṛṣṇa’s glories.

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 todayHoly Places Help Devotional LifeThis 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 4.8.42? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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