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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.50

Who is speaking and story frame

पद्‌भ्यां नखमणिश्रेण्या विलसद्‌भ्यां समर्चताम् ।

हृत्पद्मकर्णिकाधिष्ण्यमाक्रम्यात्मन्यवस्थितम् ॥ ५० ॥

padbhyāṁ nakha-maṇi-śreṇyā

vilasadbhyāṁ samarcatām

hṛt-padma-karṇikā-dhiṣṇyam

ākramyātmany avasthitam

Translation

Real yogīs meditate upon the transcendental form of the Lord as He stands on the whorl of the lotus of their hearts, the jewellike nails of His lotus feet glittering.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Meditate on the Lord Within the Heart

  1. 1

    Real yogīs meditate on the transcendental form of the Lord. Their meditation has His personal form as its object.

  2. 2

    The Lord stands on the whorl of the lotus of their hearts. The verse places this meditation within the heart.

  3. 3

    The jewellike nails of His lotus feet glitter. This radiant detail is part of the form upon which the yogīs meditate.

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. padbhyāmby His lotus feet
  2. nakha-maṇi-śreṇyāby the light of the jewellike nails on the toes
  3. vilasadbhyāmglittering lotus feet
  4. samarcatāmpersons who are engaged in worshiping them
  5. hṛt-padma-karṇikāthe whorl of the lotus flower of the heart
  6. dhiṣṇyamsituated
  7. ākramyaseizing
  8. ātmaniin the heart
  9. avasthitamsituated
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can the description of the Lord’s glittering lotus feet help focus my remembrance of Him?

Practice

Read the verse slowly, then spend one quiet minute remembering the Lord standing within the lotus of the heart.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMeditate on the Lord Within 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 4.8.50? Get an answer from the verses themselves.