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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
4.9.114.9.13

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.9.12

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

ते न स्मरन्त्यतितरां प्रियमीश मर्त्यं

ये चान्वद: सुतसुहृद्गृहवित्तदारा: ।

ये त्वब्जनाभ भवदीयपदारविन्द

सौगन्ध्यलुब्धहृदयेषु कृतप्रसङ्गा: ॥ १२ ॥

te na smaranty atitarāṁ priyam īśa martyaṁ

ye cānv adaḥ suta-suhṛd-gṛha-vitta-dārāḥ

ye tv abja-nābha bhavadīya-padāravinda-

saugandhya-lubdha-hṛdayeṣu kṛta-prasaṅgāḥ

Translation

O Lord who have a lotus navel, if a person happens to associate with a devotee whose heart always hankers after Your lotus feet, seeking always their fragrance, he is never attached to the material body or, in a bodily relationship, to offspring, friends, home, wealth and wife, which are very, very dear to materialistic persons. Indeed, he does not care for them.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotee Association Loosens Bodily Attachment

  1. 1

    Devotees enjoy the Lord’s transcendental pastimes through hearing, chanting and glorifying them. At the same time, they become less attached to their material bodies.

  2. 2

    A devotee knows that he is not the body. Therefore, bodily happiness and distress, and the happiness and distress arising from bodily relationships, do not govern his spiritual life.

  3. 3

    By seeking the association of a pure devotee, one advances in spiritual consciousness. This freedom from attachment develops through association with one whose heart always longs for the Lord’s lotus feet.

Key points from the purport
  • A special advantage in devotional service is that devotees not only enjoy the transcendental pastimes of the Lord by hearing and chanting and glorifying them, but also are not very much attached to their bodies, unlike the yogīs, who are too attached to the body and who think that by performing bodily gymnastic exercises they will advance in spiritual consciousness.
  • Therefore from the very beginning, without wasting time in bodily exercises, a devotee searches out a pure devotee and simply by his association becomes more advanced in spiritual consciousness than any yogī.
  • Because a devotee knows that he is not the body, he is never affected by bodily happiness or distress.

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 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. tethey
  2. nanever
  3. smarantiremember
  4. atitarāmhighly
  5. priyamdear
  6. īśaO Lord
  7. martyammaterial body
  8. yethey who
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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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “attached”, “wealth”, “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “devotee”, “devotees”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “chanting”, “hearing”, “glorifying”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might remembering that I am not the body change my response to happiness or distress?

Practice

When a bodily comfort or discomfort captures your attention today, pause and remember, “I am not the body,” then spend a moment hearing the Lord’s glories.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotee Association Loosens Bodily AttachmentThis 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 4.9.12? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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