page_title: Bhagavata Purana
section_title: Fourth Canto
hierarchical_section_title: Bhagavata Purana / Cantos / Fourth Canto
caption_attribution_description: Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana Gita Press Gorakhpur by MahaMuni Usage https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ Topics Sanskrit, "महामुनि का संग्रह", "Pratiek-Lucknow" Collection opensource Language Sanskrit Indological Books , 'Shrimad Bhagavata Mahapurana - Gita Press Gorakhpur.pdf' Identifier ShrimadBhagavataMahapuranaGitaPressGorakhpur Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t1bk7m619 Ocr language not currently OCRable Ppi 600 Scanner Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1.6.3
context_page_description: Bhagavata Purana also known as Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata, is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas. Composed in Sanskrit and available in almost all Indian languages, it promotes bhakti to Krishna integrating themes from the Advaita philosophy of Adi Shankara, Vishishtadvaita of Ramanujacharya and Dvaita of Madhvacharya.
  The Bhagavata Purana, like other puranas, discusses a wide range of topics including cosmology, astronomy, genealogy, geography, legend, music, dance, yoga and culture. As it begins, the forces of evil have won a war between the benevolent devas and evil asuras and now rule the universe. Truth re-emerges as Krishna, – first makes peace with the demons, understands them and then creatively defeats them, bringing back hope, justice, freedom and happiness – a cyclic theme that appears in many legends.
  The Bhagavata Purana is a revered text in Vaishnavism, a Hindu tradition that reveres Vishnu. The text presents a form of religion that competes with that of the Vedas, wherein bhakti ultimately leads to self-knowledge, salvation and bliss.
context_section_description: Consisting of 31 chapters, the fourth canto continues the dialogues of Sukadeva Gosvami, Uddhava, and Maitreya. There are additional layers of dialogue, such as between the sage-avatar Narada and King Pracinabharhisat (as narrated by Maitreya to Vidura). Focusing on the female descendants of Svayambhuva Manu, topics covered include the:
  Genealogies of the daughters of Svayambhuva Manu and of Dhruva (grandson of Svayambhuva Manu)
  Enmity between Daksa and Shiva, self-immolation of Sati (wife of Shiva and daughter of Daksa), and attack by Shiva on Daksa's ritual
  Liberation of the boy-sage Dhruva, including advice from Narada, his vision of Vishnu, and battles with the Yaksas
  Killing of the tyrant-king Vena by Brahmins before the appearance of the Prthu avatar to restore abundance of the Earth
  Allegorical story, descriptions, and characteristics of King Puranjana, who was reborn as a woman due to thinking of his wife when he died
  Activities of the Pracetas, including meeting with Shiva, instruction from Narada, and ultimate liberation
  Qualities of Krishna, Vaishnava devotion (Bhakti Yoga), the soul (atman), the super-soul (paramatan), and materialistic life
  SB 4.16.17 original Sanskrit:
  मातृभक्ति: परस्त्रीषु पत्‍न्यामर्ध इवात्मन: । प्रजासु पितृवत्स्‍निग्ध: किङ्करो ब्रह्मवादिनाम् ॥ १७ ॥
  Swami Prabhupada translation:
  The king [Prthu] will respect all women as if they were his own mother, and he will treat his own wife as the other half of his body. He will be just like an affectionate father to his citizens, and he will treat himself as the most obedient servant of the devotees, who always preach the glories of the Lord.
  — Canto 4, Chapter 16, Verse 17
  Bibek Debroy translation:
  He will revere other men's wives like his own mother. He will treat his own wife like one half of his own self. Towards his subjects, he will be as gentle as a father. He will be a servant to those who know about the Brahman.
  — Fourth Skandha, Chapter 4(16)
caption: Visnhu appears to Dhruva
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