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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
4.9.224.9.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.9.23

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Lordsince 4.9.23inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

त्वद्भ्रातर्युत्तमे नष्टे मृगयायां तु तन्मना: ।

अन्वेषन्ती वनं माता दावाग्निं सा प्रवेक्ष्यति ॥ २३ ॥

tvad-bhrātary uttame naṣṭe

mṛgayāyāṁ tu tan-manāḥ

anveṣantī vanaṁ mātā

dāvāgniṁ sā pravekṣyati

Translation

The Lord continued: Sometime in the future your brother, Uttama, will go hunting in the forest, and while absorbed in hunting, he will be killed. Your stepmother, Suruci, being maddened upon the death of her son, will go to search him out in the forest, but she will be devoured by a forest fire.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Respect Devotees and Avoid Insulting Others

  1. 1

    Suruci insulted Dhruva Mahārāja without knowing that he was a great Vaiṣṇava. The purport teaches that even an unknowingly committed offense against a Vaiṣṇava brings a bad result.

  2. 2

    We should never try to insult a Vaiṣṇava, nor should we insult anyone unnecessarily. A Vaiṣṇava is especially favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  3. 3

    Pleasing a pure Vaiṣṇava pleases the Supreme Lord. By pleasing the spiritual master, who is a pure Vaiṣṇava, one pleases the Personality of Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • Dhruva Mahārāja came to the forest to search out the Supreme Personality of Godhead with a revenging spirit against his stepmother.
  • His stepmother had insulted Dhruva, who was not an ordinary person, but a great Vaiṣṇava.
  • Because of having insulted Dhruva Mahārāja, Suruci would become mad upon the death of her son and would enter a forest fire, and thus her life would be ended.

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. tvatyour
  2. bhrātaribrother
  3. uttameUttama
  4. naṣṭebeing killed
  5. mṛgayāyāmin hunting
  6. tuthen
  7. tat-manāḥbeing too afflicted
  8. anveṣantīwhile searching out
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

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

    In this verse: “death”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “offense”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “favored”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can I be more careful to speak respectfully, even when I do not recognize someone's spiritual standing?

Practice

Before one conversation today, pause and resolve to avoid insulting words.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRespect Devotees and Avoid Insulting OthersThis 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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