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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
4.9.20-214.9.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.9.22

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 4.9.20-21inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

प्रस्थिते तु वनं पित्रा दत्त्वा गां धर्मसंश्रय: ।

षट्-त्रिंशद्वर्षसाहस्रं रक्षिताव्याहतेन्द्रिय: ॥ २२ ॥

prasthite tu vanaṁ pitrā

dattvā gāṁ dharma-saṁśrayaḥ

ṣaṭ-triṁśad-varṣa-sāhasraṁ

rakṣitāvyāhatendriyaḥ

Translation

After your father goes to the forest and awards you the rule of his kingdom, you will rule continuously the entire world for thirty-six thousand years, and all your senses will continue to be as strong as they are now. You will never become old.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Promises Dhruva a Long Reign

  1. 1

    The Lord told Dhruva that his father would go to the forest and hand over the kingdom to him.

  2. 2

    Dhruva would rule the entire world for thirty-six thousand years. The Lord promised that his senses would remain strong and that he would not grow old.

  3. 3

    The purport explains that people in Satya-yuga generally lived for one hundred thousand years. Dhruva’s long reign was therefore quite possible in those days.

Key points from the purport
  • In the Satya-yuga people generally lived for one hundred thousand years.
  • Dhruva Mahārāja’s ruling the world for thirty-six thousand years was quite possible in those days.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. prasthiteafter departure
  2. tubut
  3. vanamto the forest
  4. pitrāby your father
  5. dattvāawarding
  6. gāmthe whole world
  7. dharma-saṁśrayaḥunder the protection of piety
  8. ṣaṭ-triṁśatthirty-six
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “kingdom”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “father”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the purport’s explanation of lifespans in Satya-yuga help me understand this promise?

Practice

Read the translation once more, then note how the lifespan described in the purport explains the length of Dhruva’s reign.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Promises Dhruva a Long ReignThis 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 4.9.22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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