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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
4.8.574.8.59-60

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.58

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

परिचर्या भगवतो यावत्य: पूर्वसेविता: ।

ता मन्त्रहृदयेनैव प्रयुञ्‍ज्यान्मन्त्रमूर्तये ॥ ५८ ॥

paricaryā bhagavato

yāvatyaḥ pūrva-sevitāḥ

tā mantra-hṛdayenaiva

prayuñjyān mantra-mūrtaye

Translation

One should follow in the footsteps of previous devotees regarding how to worship the Supreme Lord with the prescribed paraphernalia, or one should offer worship within the heart by reciting the mantra to the Personality of Godhead, who is nondifferent from the mantra.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Worship Within the Heart When Supplies Are Absent

  1. 1

    One should follow previous devotees in worshiping the Supreme Lord with the prescribed items. Their example guides devotional service.

  2. 2

    If physical worship items are unavailable, one can think of the Lord’s form and mentally offer flowers, candana pulp and other recommended items.

  3. 3

    The mantra and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are nondifferent. By chanting oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, one can worship Him within the heart even without physical supplies.

Key points from the purport
  • It is recommended here that even if one cannot arrange to worship the forms of the Lord with all recommended paraphernalia, one can simply think about the form of the Lord and mentally offer everything recommended in the śāstras, including flowers, candana pulp, conchshell, umbrella, fan and cāmara.
  • Since the mantra and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are nondifferent, one can worship the form of the Lord with the mantra in the absence of physical paraphernalia.
  • If paraphernalia is not present physically, one can think of the items and offer them to the Deity by chanting the mantra.

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. paricaryāḥservice
  2. bhagavataḥof the Personality of Godhead
  3. yāvatyaḥas they are prescribed (as above mentioned)
  4. pūrva-sevitāḥrecommended or done by previous ācāryas
  5. tāḥthat
  6. mantrahymns
  7. hṛdayenawithin the heart
  8. evacertainly
  9. prayuñjyātone should worship
  10. mantra-mūrtayewho is nondifferent from the mantra.
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: “devotees”, “worship”, “devotional service”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

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

    In this verse: “reciting”, “chanting”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I let a lack of physical supplies keep me from offering service to the Lord?

Practice

If worship items are unavailable today, mentally offer flowers to the Lord while reciting oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayWorship Within the Heart When Supplies Are AbsentThis 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 4.8.58? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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