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

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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.8.79

Who is speaking and story frame

यदैकपादेन स पार्थिवार्भक

स्तस्थौ तदङ्गुष्ठनिपीडिता मही ।

ननाम तत्रार्धमिभेन्द्रधिष्ठिता

तरीव सव्येतरत: पदे पदे ॥ ७९ ॥

yadaika-pādena sa pārthivārbhakas

tasthau tad-aṅguṣṭha-nipīḍitā mahī

nanāma tatrārdham ibhendra-dhiṣṭhitā

tarīva savyetarataḥ pade pade

Translation

As Dhruva Mahārāja, the King’s son, kept himself steadily standing on one leg, the pressure of his big toe pushed down half the earth, just as an elephant being carried on a boat rocks the boat left and right with his every step.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Transforms a Person’s Capacity

  1. 1

    Although Dhruva Mahārāja was a king’s son, he had been prevented from sitting on his father’s lap. After advancing in devotional service, the pressure of his toe could push down the earth.

  2. 2

    Śrīla Prabhupāda presents this as the difference between ordinary consciousness and Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Dhruva’s extraordinary capacity came with his advancement in self-realization.

  3. 3

    A person’s earlier limitations do not establish what that person can do after spiritual advancement. Dhruva constantly concentrated on the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart.

Key points from the purport
  • One cannot argue, “How is it that Dhruva Mahārāja, who was prevented from getting up on the lap of his father, could press down the whole earth?”
  • The stepmother of Dhruva Mahārāja might have been thinking in a similar way: since she had refused to allow him to get up on the lap of his father, how could Dhruva perform such wonderful activities as pressing down the whole earth?
  • She must have been very surprised when she learned that Dhruva Mahārāja, by concentrating constantly on the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, could press down the entire earth, like an elephant who presses down the boat on which it is loaded.

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. yadāwhen
  2. ekawith one
  3. pādenaleg
  4. saḥDhruva Mahārāja
  5. pārthivathe King’s
  6. arbhakaḥchild
  7. tasthauremained standing
  8. tat-aṅguṣṭhahis big toe
3

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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “king’s”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 4.8

    In this verse: “father’s”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I judge spiritual possibilities only by someone’s earlier limitations?

Practice

When an old limitation discourages you today, turn your attention to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and complete one small act of devotional service.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Service Transforms a Person’s CapacityThis 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 4.8.79? Get an answer from the verses themselves.