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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.
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Canto 4 · Chapter 9: Dhruva Mahārāja Returns Home
4.9.58-594.9.61

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.9.60

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 4.9.53inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

महामणिव्रातमये स तस्मिन्भवनोत्तमे । लालितो नितरां पित्रा न्यवसद्दिवि देववत् ॥ ६० ॥

mahāmaṇi-vrātamaye

sa tasmin bhavanottame

lālito nitarāṁ pitrā

nyavasad divi devavat

Translation

Dhruva Mahārāja thereafter lived in his father’s palace, which had walls bedecked with highly valuable jewels. His affectionate father took particular care of him, and he dwelled in that house just as the demigods live in their palaces in the higher planetary systems.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

An Affectionate Father’s Care

  1. 1

    Dhruva Mahārāja lived in his father’s palace, whose walls were bedecked with highly valuable jewels.

  2. 2

    His affectionate father took particular care of him.

  3. 3

    His life in that house is compared to the lives of demigods in their palaces in the higher planetary systems.

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. mahā-maṇigreatly valuable jewels
  2. vrātagroups of
  3. mayebedecked with
  4. saḥhe (Dhruva Mahārāja)
  5. tasminin that
  6. bhavana-uttamebrilliant house
  7. lālitaḥbeing raised
  8. nitarāmalways
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

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

    In this verse: “father’s”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does taking particular care of someone look like in your home?

Practice

Attend to one practical need of a family member today.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayAn Affectionate Father’s CareThis 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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