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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.4.15
यद्यच्छीर्षण्याचरितं तत्तदनुवर्तते लोक: ॥ १५ ॥
yad yac chīrṣaṇyācaritaṁ tat tad anuvartate lokaḥ.
Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioThree study points drawn from the translation and purport.
People follow the actions of leading personalities. Leaders must therefore set an ideal example.
Society needs qualified brāhmaṇas trained according to Vedic knowledge. By following their guidance, others can advance spiritually and become free from material attachment.
Lord Kṛṣṇa describes the material world as a temporary place of misery. True leaders should help people become free from material existence, not merely adjust to its miseries.
Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.
The purport of SB 5.4.15 quotesBG 3.21
A similar verse is also found in Bhagavad-gītā (3.21).
Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.
Responsibility → Renunciation. Leadership is set beside the renounced ideal.
Chapters 1–6 of Canto 5: Priyavrata and Ṛṣabhadeva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc
From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:
To follow social customs, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva for a while became a student in the gurukula, and after returning, He followed the orders of His guru and accepted a wife named Jayantī, who had been given to Him by the King of heaven, Indra. He begot a hundred sons in the womb of Jayantī.Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.4
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.
Manvantara · The change of Manus
What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.4
In this verse: “attachment”, “material”
Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment
Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 5.4
In this verse: “free from”
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.4
In this verse: “knowledge”
Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
Do the examples I follow help me loosen material attachment?
Review one person whose example you follow and consider whether their conduct encourages spiritual advancement.
The story this chapter belongs to.
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 5.4.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.