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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
4.9.124.9.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.9.13

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
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

तिर्यङ्‌नगद्विजसरीसृपदेवदैत्य

मर्त्यादिभि: परिचितं सदसद्विशेषम् ।

रूपं स्थविष्ठमज ते महदाद्यनेकं

नात: परं परम वेद्मि न यत्र वाद: ॥ १३ ॥

tiryaṅ-naga-dvija-sarīsṛpa-deva-daitya-

martyādibhiḥ paricitaṁ sad-asad-viśeṣam

rūpaṁ sthaviṣṭham aja te mahad-ādy-anekaṁ

nātaḥ paraṁ parama vedmi na yatra vādaḥ

Translation

My dear Lord, O Supreme Unborn, I know that the different varieties of living entities, such as animals, trees, birds, reptiles, demigods and human beings, are spread throughout the universe, which is caused by the total material energy, and I know that they are sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest; but I have never experienced the supreme form I behold as I see You now. Now all kinds of methods of theorizing have come to an end.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotion Reveals the Supreme Person

  1. 1

    Everything rests upon the Lord, yet He remains aloof. Before seeing His transcendental form, Dhruva Mahārāja had known only the varieties of material forms.

  2. 2

    Factual understanding of the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, comes only through devotional service. The living entity’s position is to render service, and its proper goal is service to Kṛṣṇa.

  3. 3

    When the Lord touched His conchshell to Dhruva’s forehead, real knowledge was revealed from within. Although Dhruva was an ignorant child, the Lord’s blessing enabled him to understand His transcendental form.

Key points from the purport
  • Dhruva Mahārāja, however, had been blessed by the Supreme Lord.
  • When the Lord touched His conchshell to Dhruva’s forehead, real knowledge was revealed from within, and Dhruva could understand the Lord’s transcendental form.
  • It would not have been possible for an ignorant child to appreciate the supreme form of the Lord had he not been blessed by the Lord, who had touched His conchshell to Dhruva’s forehead.

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 4.9.13 quotesBG 18.55

This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.55).

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tiryakby animals
  2. nagatrees
  3. dvijabirds
  4. sarīsṛpareptiles
  5. devademigods
  6. daityademons
  7. martya-ādibhiḥby men, etc.
  8. paricitampervaded
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “absolute truth”, “understanding”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I seeking to understand Kṛṣṇa through devotional service, or relying mainly on theorizing?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer to Kṛṣṇa today, asking for His mercy to understand Him through devotional service.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotion Reveals the Supreme PersonThis 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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