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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
4.8.564.8.58

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.57

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
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

स्वेच्छावतारचरितैरचिन्त्यनिजमायया ।

करिष्यत्युत्तमश्लोकस्तद् ध्यायेद्‌धृदयङ्गमम् ॥ ५७ ॥

svecchāvatāra-caritair

acintya-nija-māyayā

kariṣyaty uttamaślokas

tad dhyāyed dhṛdayaṅ-gamam

Translation

My dear Dhruva, besides worshiping the Deity and chanting the mantra three times a day, you should meditate upon the transcendental activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His different incarnations, as exhibited by His supreme will and personal potencies.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Remember the Lord’s Transcendental Activities

  1. 1

    Devotional service includes hearing, chanting, remembering and worshiping. Dhruva is advised to remember the Lord’s transcendental activities along with Deity worship and mantra chanting.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears by His supreme will and internal potency. Unlike a conditioned soul, He is not forced by karma or material nature to accept a body.

  3. 3

    Meditating on the Lord’s pastimes is as valuable as meditating on His form. Chanting His different names is also valuable, and the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is especially recommended in this age.

Key points from the purport
  • Devotional service comprises nine prescribed practices — hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving, offering everything to the Deity, etc. Here Dhruva Mahārāja is advised not only to meditate on the form of the Lord, but to think of His transcendental pastimes in His different incarnations.
  • But when the Lord appears, He is not forced by the dictation of material nature; He appears as He likes by His own internal potency.
  • In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said, ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhiḥ: one should not mistake the appearance of the Lord as a human being or a beast to be the same as the birth of an ordinary conditioned soul, who is forced to appear by the laws of nature, whether as an animal, as a human being or as a demigod.

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. sva-icchāby His own supreme will
  2. avatāraincarnation
  3. caritaiḥactivities
  4. acintyainconceivable
  5. nija-māyayāby His own potency
  6. kariṣyatiperforms
  7. uttama-ślokaḥthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  8. tatthat
  9. dhyāyetone should meditate
  10. hṛdayam-gamamvery attractive
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “worshiping”, “devotional service”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

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

    In this verse: “chanting”, “hearing”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “material”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does knowing that the Lord appears by His own will shape my remembrance of Him?

Practice

Chant once attentively: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRemember the Lord’s Transcendental ActivitiesThis 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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