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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.
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Canto 4 · Chapter 9: Dhruva Mahārāja Returns Home
4.9.664.10.1

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.9.67

Mukti· Liberation
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

आत्मानं च प्रवयसमाकलय्य विशाम्पति: । वनं विरक्त: प्रातिष्ठद्विमृशन्नात्मनो गतिम् ॥ ६७ ॥

ātmānaṁ ca pravayasam

ākalayya viśāmpatiḥ

vanaṁ viraktaḥ prātiṣṭhad

vimṛśann ātmano gatim

Translation

After considering his advanced age and deliberating on the welfare of his spiritual self, King Uttānapāda detached himself from worldly affairs and entered the forest.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Make Time for Spiritual Welfare

  1. 1

    Considering his advanced age and spiritual welfare, King Uttānapāda left worldly affairs and entered the forest. Giving up his great wealth and position showed that he was a rājarṣi.

  2. 2

    Śrīla Prabhupāda describes austerity as the main business of human life. Dhruva Mahārāja practiced it in childhood, and his father practiced it in old age.

  3. 3

    Going to the forest is not practical today, but people of all ages can take shelter of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The purport recommends no illicit sex, intoxication, gambling or meat-eating, along with regularly chanting sixteen rounds of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, as a practical way to attain salvation.

Key points from the purport
  • Modern politicians are not as great as kings like Mahārāja Uttānapāda, but because they get some political power for some days, they become so much attached to their positions that they never retire unless they are removed from their posts by cruel death or killed by some opposing political party.
  • This was not the practice in olden days, as it is evident from the behavior of King Uttānapāda.
  • As Mahārāja Dhruva practiced austerity in his early age, his father, Mahārāja Uttānapāda, in his old age also practiced austerity in the forest.

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. ātmānamhimself
  2. caalso
  3. pravayasamadvanced in age
  4. ākalayyaconsidering
  5. viśāmpatiḥKing Uttānapāda
  6. vanamto the forest
  7. viraktaḥdetached
  8. prātiṣṭhatdeparted
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

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

    In this verse: “detached”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “welfare”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.9

    In this verse: “king”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What worldly attachment could you loosen to give more attention to your spiritual welfare?

Practice

Set aside a few minutes of worldly activity today to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMake Time for Spiritual WelfareThis 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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