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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
4.8.44.8.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.5

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.8.3inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

सङ्ग्रहेण मयाख्यात: प्रतिसर्गस्तवानघ ।

त्रि: श्रुत्वैतत्पुमान् पुण्यं विधुनोत्यात्मनो मलम् ॥ ५ ॥

saṅgraheṇa mayākhyātaḥ

pratisargas tavānagha

triḥ śrutvaitat pumān puṇyaṁ

vidhunoty ātmano malam

Translation

My dear Vidura, I have summarily explained the causes of devastation. One who hears this description three times attains piety and washes the sinful contamination from his soul.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Reject Devastation’s Causes and Cleanse the Heart

  1. 1

    Creation takes place on the basis of goodness, while devastation takes place because of irreligion. Cheating, greed, anger, envy and harsh speech are among the signs of devastation.

  2. 2

    The translation states that hearing this description three times brings piety and washes away sinful contamination. The purport explains piety as the process of cleansing the heart.

  3. 3

    Learning to reject these causes of devastation makes attaining Kṛṣṇa consciousness easier. The path of liberation saves one from the repeated suffering of birth and death.

Key points from the purport
  • The creation takes place on the basis of goodness, but devastation takes place because of irreligion.
  • If a person is pious and hears about these causes of devastation, he will feel hatred for all these, and that will cause his advancement in a life of piety.
  • We should learn to despise all the causes of devastation, beginning from irreligion and cheating, and then we shall be able to make advancement in a life of piety.

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. saṅgraheṇain summary
  2. mayāby me
  3. ākhyātaḥis explained
  4. pratisargaḥcause of devastation
  5. tavayour
  6. anaghaO pure one
  7. triḥthree times
  8. śrutvāhaving heard
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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

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

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

    In this verse: “sinful”, “contamination”, “cleansing”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

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

    In this verse: “hearing”

  • 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

Which cause of devastation can I begin rejecting more firmly today?

Practice

Read this description aloud three times, listening carefully and identifying one harmful tendency to reject.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayReject Devastation’s Causes and Cleanse the HeartThis 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 4.8.5? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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