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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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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
4.8.534.8.55

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.54

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 4.8.46inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ।

मन्त्रेणानेन देवस्य कुर्याद् द्रव्यमयीं बुध: ।

सपर्यां विविधैर्द्रव्यैर्देशकालविभागवित् ॥ ५४ ॥

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

mantreṇānena devasya

kuryād dravyamayīṁ budhaḥ

saparyāṁ vividhair dravyair

deśa-kāla-vibhāgavit

Translation

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. This is the twelve-syllable mantra for worshiping Lord Kṛṣṇa. One should install the physical forms of the Lord, and with the chanting of the mantra one should offer flowers and fruits and other varieties of foodstuffs exactly according to the rules and regulations prescribed by authorities. But this should be done in consideration of place, time, and attendant conveniences and inconveniences.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Authorized Worship Welcomes Everyone

  1. 1

    Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya is the twelve-syllable mantra for worshiping Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should receive the mantra from a bona fide spiritual master in the disciplic succession and chant it.

  2. 2

    The authorized form of the Lord is spiritual and transcendental, even when made of wood, stone, metal or paint. Worship includes chanting and offering suitable food, with consideration for time, place and available conveniences.

  3. 3

    Birth does not bar anyone from becoming a Vaiṣṇava. Through bona fide initiation and proper worship, anyone can be elevated and go back home, back to Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • The prescribed rules, as stated here by Nārada Muni, are that one should accept the mantra through a bona fide spiritual master and hear the mantra in the right ear.
  • Not only should one chant or murmur the mantra, but in front of him he must have the Deity, or physical form of the Lord.
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā, vyapāśritya: one should accept a spiritual master.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. omO my Lord
  2. namaḥI offer my respectful obeisances
  3. bhagavateunto the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  4. vāsudevāyaunto the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva
  5. mantreṇaby this hymn, or mantra
  6. anenathis
  7. devasyaof the Lord
  8. kuryātone should do
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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

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

    In this verse: “chanting”, “chant”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “worshiping”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I judge devotional worship by outward circumstances, or value its authorized principles?

Practice

Write down one question to ask an authorized teacher about worshiping Kṛṣṇa with what is available where you live.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

Quoted in 1 lecture. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 1 lecture

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayAuthorized Worship Welcomes EveryoneThis 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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