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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
4.8.714.8.73

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.72

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.8.70inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

त्रिरात्रान्ते त्रिरात्रान्ते कपित्थबदराशन: ।

आत्मवृत्त्यनुसारेण मासं निन्येऽर्चयन्हरिम् ॥ ७२ ॥

tri-rātrānte tri-rātrānte

kapittha-badarāśanaḥ

ātma-vṛtty-anusāreṇa

māsaṁ ninye ’rcayan harim

Translation

For the first month Dhruva Mahārāja ate only fruits and berries on every third day, only to keep his body and soul together, and in this way he progressed in his worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Live Simply and Serve With Determination

  1. 1

    Dhruva Mahārāja ate fruits and berries every third day, only to maintain his body for worship. A devotee accepts enough food to keep the body fit, not to indulge the tongue.

  2. 2

    We cannot imitate Dhruva Mahārāja’s austerities in this age, but we should follow his determination. By Lord Caitanya’s mercy, devotional service has been made easy through the prescribed principles.

  3. 3

    Śrīla Prabhupāda asks his followers to observe the four prohibitive rules, chant sixteen rounds and accept prasāda. We should be determined to fulfill our duties in devotional service in this life.

Key points from the purport
  • Dhruva Mahārāja, however, accepted such fruits, not for luxurious feasting but just to keep his body and soul together.
  • Dhruva Mahārāja is an ācārya, and by undergoing severe austerities and penances he teaches us how one should execute devotional service.
  • As far as possible we should accept simple foodstuff, just to keep the body and soul together to execute devotional service.

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. trithree
  2. rātra-anteat the end of night
  3. trithree
  4. rātra-anteat the end of night
  5. kapittha-badarafruits and berries
  6. aśanaḥeating
  7. ātma-vṛttijust to preserve the body
  8. anusāreṇaas it was necessary, minimum
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: “worship”, “devotional service”, “devotee”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “duties”, “principles”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “mercy”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I using simplicity to support devotional service, or neglecting the duties that make it possible?

Practice

Accept a simple meal of prasāda today with the intention of maintaining your body for devotional service.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayLive Simply and Serve With DeterminationThis 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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