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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 9: Dhruva Mahārāja Returns Home
4.9.104.9.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.9.11

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Dhruva Mahārājasince 4.9.11inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

भक्तिं मुहु: प्रवहतां त्वयि मे प्रसङ्गो

भूयादनन्त महताममलाशयानाम् ।

येनाञ्जसोल्बणमुरुव्यसनं भवाब्धिं

नेष्ये भवद्गुणकथामृतपानमत्त: ॥ ११ ॥

bhaktiṁ muhuḥ pravahatāṁ tvayi me prasaṅgo

bhūyād ananta mahatām amalāśayānām

yenāñjasolbaṇam uru-vyasanaṁ bhavābdhiṁ

neṣye bhavad-guṇa-kathāmṛta-pāna-mattaḥ

Translation

Dhruva Mahārāja continued: O unlimited Lord, kindly bless me so that I may associate with great devotees who engage in Your transcendental loving service constantly, as the waves of a river constantly flow. Such transcendental devotees are completely situated in an uncontaminated state of life. By the process of devotional service I shall surely be able to cross the nescient ocean of material existence, which is filled with the waves of blazing, firelike dangers. It will be very easy for me, for I am becoming mad to hear about Your transcendental qualities and pastimes, which are eternally existent.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Matures Through Devotee Association

  1. 1

    Dhruva Mahārāja especially asked for the association of pure devotees. Without such association, devotional service does not mature or become fully relishable.

  2. 2

    Constant devotional activity is compared to the waves of an incessantly flowing river. Eagerly hearing the Lord’s qualities and pastimes makes the dangerous ocean of material existence easy to cross.

  3. 3

    Devotional service in this world and in the spiritual world is the same service, at different stages of maturity. Like a ripening mango, it becomes more relishable through the association of devotees.

Key points from the purport
  • Transcendental devotional service cannot be complete and cannot be relishable without the association of devotees.
  • The purport of this statement by Dhruva Mahārāja is that devotional service in the association of devotees is the cause of the development of further devotional service.
  • It is possible to mature in devotional service only in the association of devotees.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 4.9.11 quotesSB 3.25.25

The Lord says, satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ: only in the association of pure devotees can the words of Lord Kṛṣṇa be fully potent and relishable to the heart and ear.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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 9: Dhruva Mahārāja Returns Home

The Lord grants Dhruva’s desire; Dhruva regrets his former hostility and returns to his family.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.9
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. bhaktimdevotional service
  2. muhuḥconstantly
  3. pravahatāmof those who perform
  4. tvayiunto You
  5. memy
  6. prasaṅgaḥintimate association
  7. bhūyātmay it become
  8. anantaO unlimited
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 4.9

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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “dangers”, “dangerous”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “bless”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I make association with devotees a more regular part of my life?

Practice

Arrange a short time today to hear or discuss Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with a devotee.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 3.25.25

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.9's connections

Live this todayDevotional Service Matures Through Devotee AssociationThis 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 4.9.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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