1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 4 · The Creation of the Fourth Order · 31 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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
4.8.59-604.8.62

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.61

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

विरक्तश्चेन्द्रियरतौ भक्तियोगेन भूयसा ।

तं निरन्तरभावेन भजेताद्धा विमुक्तये ॥ ६१ ॥

viraktaś cendriya-ratau

bhakti-yogena bhūyasā

taṁ nirantara-bhāvena

bhajetāddhā vimuktaye

Translation

If one is very serious about liberation, he must stick to the process of transcendental loving service, engaging twenty-four hours a day in the highest stage of ecstasy, and he must certainly be aloof from all activities of sense gratification.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Seek Loving Service Beyond Material Desires

  1. 1

    Above those seeking sense gratification, liberation or perfection in meditation are devotees who engage in the Lord’s transcendental loving service.

  2. 2

    Pure bhakti-yoga is free from desires for material sense gratification. Even the desire to merge into the Supreme is described here as sense gratification.

  3. 3

    Beyond impersonal liberation is vimukti: becoming an associate of the Lord and rendering loving service. Nārada Muni therefore recommends directly engaging in devotional service.

Key points from the purport
  • Here Dhruva Mahārāja is advised that if he has no desire for sense gratification, then he should directly engage himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.
  • If one wants to be happy within this material world, he may aspire to go to the different material planetary systems where there is a higher standard of sense gratification, but real mokṣa, or liberation, is performed without any such desire.
  • The activities on the path of apavarga up to the stages of dharma, artha and kāma are meant for sense gratification, but when one comes to the stage of mokṣa, the impersonalist liberation, the practitioner wants to merge into the existence of the Supreme.

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. viraktaḥ cacompletely renounced order of life
  2. indriya-ratauin the matter of sense gratification
  3. bhakti-yogenaby the process of devotional service
  4. bhūyasāwith great seriousness
  5. tamunto Him (the Supreme)
  6. nirantaraconstantly, twenty-four hours daily
  7. bhāvenain the topmost stage of ecstasy
  8. bhajetamust worship
  9. addhādirectly
  10. vimuktayefor liberation
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: “devotional service”, “devotees”, “bhakti-yoga”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “sense gratification”, “material”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “ecstasy”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I give more attention to loving service rather than my own enjoyment?

Practice

Set aside one optional sense pleasure today and use that time for attentive devotional service.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySeek Loving Service Beyond Material DesiresThis 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 4.8.61? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories