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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
4.9.54.9.7

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.9.6

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Dhruva Mahārājasince 4.9.6inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

ध्रुव उवाच

योऽन्त: प्रविश्य मम वाचमिमां प्रसुप्तां

सञ्जीवयत्यखिलशक्तिधर: स्वधाम्ना ।

अन्यांश्च हस्तचरणश्रवणत्वगादीन्

प्राणान्नमो भगवते पुरुषाय तुभ्यम् ॥ ६ ॥

dhruva uvāca

yo ’ntaḥ praviśya mama vācam imāṁ prasuptāṁ

sañjīvayaty akhila-śakti-dharaḥ sva-dhāmnā

anyāṁś ca hasta-caraṇa-śravaṇa-tvag-ādīn

prāṇān namo bhagavate puruṣāya tubhyam

Translation

Dhruva Mahārāja said: My dear Lord, You are all-powerful. After entering within me, You have enlivened all my sleeping senses — my hands, legs, ears, touch sensation, life force and especially my power of speech. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Awaken the Senses in the Lord’s Service

  1. 1

    Dhruva Mahārāja recognized that his senses and life force had been spiritually asleep. By the Lord’s mercy, he understood that the Supreme Godhead is the Supreme Person, not impersonal.

  2. 2

    The Lord’s spiritual energy gradually reveals Him to one who surrenders and accepts the position of His eternal servant. Dhruva therefore offered respectful obeisances in gratitude.

  3. 3

    Purifying the senses and engaging them in the Lord’s service is bhakti, or devotional service. This engagement begins under the direction of the spiritual master and śāstra and continues with spiritual understanding after realization.

Key points from the purport
  • Dhruva Mahārāja actually experienced that upon enlightenment of his senses on the spiritual platform he could understand the essence of Vedic instruction — that the Supreme Godhead is the Supreme Person; He is not impersonal.
  • Spiritual enlightenment is possible by the mercy of the spiritual energy of the Lord.
  • When one is actually enlivened by the spiritual energy, all his senses become purified, and he engages only in the service of the Lord.

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. dhruvaḥ uvācaDhruva Mahārāja said
  2. yaḥthe Supreme Lord who
  3. antaḥwithin
  4. praviśyaentering
  5. mamamy
  6. vācamwords
  7. imāmall these
  8. prasuptāmwhich are all inactive or dead
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

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

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “mercy”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “purifying”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which of your senses could you more consciously engage in the Lord’s service today?

Practice

Use your tongue to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and your ears to listen attentively for one minute.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayAwaken the Senses in the Lord’s ServiceThis 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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