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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.
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Canto 4 · Chapter 8: Dhruva Mahārāja Leaves Home for the Forest
4.8.674.8.69

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.68

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 4.8.68inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

नारद उवाच

मा मा शुच: स्वतनयं देवगुप्तं विशाम्पते ।

तत्प्रभावमविज्ञाय प्रावृङ्क्ते यद्यशो जगत् ॥ ६८ ॥

nārada uvāca

mā mā śucaḥ sva-tanayaṁ

deva-guptaṁ viśāmpate

tat-prabhāvam avijñāya

prāvṛṅkte yad-yaśo jagat

Translation

The great sage Nārada replied: My dear King, please do not be aggrieved about your son. He is well protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although you have no actual information of his influence, his reputation is already spread all over the world.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Surrendered Devotee Is Never Alone

  1. 1

    Nārada assured the King that Dhruva was well protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The King did not yet understand his son’s influence.

  2. 2

    Śaraṇāgati, or surrender, includes firm belief that the surrendered soul is always protected by the Lord, wherever that soul lives.

  3. 3

    A person engaged in devotional service is never alone or unprotected. This explains how sages and devotees can serve the Lord even in the forest.

Key points from the purport
  • But the answer, given by a great authority, Nārada Muni, is that such persons are well protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Śaraṇāgati, or surrender, means acceptance or firm belief that wherever the surrendered soul lives he is always protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; he is never alone or unprotected.
  • Dhruva Mahārāja’s affectionate father thought his young boy, only five years old, to be in a very precarious position in the jungle, but Nārada Muni assured him, “You do not have sufficient information about the influence of your son.”

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. nāradaḥ uvācathe great sage Nārada said
  2. mādo not
  3. mādo not
  4. śucaḥbe aggrieved
  5. sva-tanayamof your own son
  6. deva-guptamhe is well protected by the Lord
  7. viśām-pateO master of human society
  8. tathis
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “king”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “protected”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can remembrance of the Lord’s protection strengthen my devotional service?

Practice

Before one act of devotional service today, pause and remember that the surrendered devotee is never alone.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Surrendered Devotee Is Never AloneThis 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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