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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
4.9.614.9.63

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.9.62

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

यत्र स्फटिककुड्येषु महामारकतेषु च । मणिप्रदीपा आभान्ति ललनारत्नसंयुता: ॥ ६२ ॥

yatra sphaṭika-kuḍyeṣu

mahā-mārakateṣu ca

maṇi-pradīpā ābhānti

lalanā-ratna-saṁyutāḥ

Translation

The palace of the King was surrounded by walls made of marble with many engravings made of valuable jewels like sapphires, which depicted beautiful women with shining jewel lamps in their hands.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Natural Wealth Should Support Self-Realization

  1. 1

    The palace’s marble walls and jewel decorations depict a glorious ancient civilization. The purport places Dhruva Mahārāja in Satya-yuga and explains that human life spans decrease in successive ages.

  2. 2

    Real advancement depends not on industrial enterprises but on natural wealth and natural food. These are supplied by the Supreme Personality of Godhead so that people may save time for self-realization and success in human life.

  3. 3

    Despite his magnificent palace, King Uttānapāda would soon give up attachment to it. He would go to the forest for self-realization.

Key points from the purport
  • The description of King Uttānapāda’s palace depicts the state of affairs many hundreds and thousands of years ago, long before Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was compiled.
  • Since it is described that Mahārāja Dhruva ruled for thirty-six thousand years, he must have lived in the Satya-yuga, when people lived for one hundred thousand years.
  • It can be calculated that Dhruva Mahārāja lived many millions of years ago, but the description of the palace of Dhruva’s father is so glorious that we cannot accept that advanced human civilization did not exist even forty or fifty thousand years ago.

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. yatrawhere
  2. sphaṭikamade of marble
  3. kuḍyeṣuon walls
  4. mahā-mārakateṣubedecked with valuable jewels like sapphires
  5. caalso
  6. maṇi-pradīpāḥlamps made of jewels
  7. ābhāntishone
  8. lalanāfemale figures
  9. ratnamade of jewels
  10. saṁyutāḥheld by
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “attachment”, “wealth”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “king”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “give up”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Are your comforts saving time for self-realization, or increasing your attachment?

Practice

Set aside five minutes from pursuing material comforts today to study this teaching on self-realization.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayNatural Wealth Should Support Self-RealizationThis 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 4.9.62? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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