Canto 6 · 5 moments
Citraketu / Vṛtrāsura
Bereavement becomes fearless longing
The same soul can carry grief into grace
- 1Where it begins
Citraketu endures crushing loss, learns from saintly teachers and is later revealed in the life of Vṛtrāsura.
- 2The test
Can devastating grief open a path toward deeper truth?
- 3The turn
Instruction reorients his attachment, and as Vṛtrāsura he expresses extraordinary longing for the Lord.
- 4What it teaches
His story moves across births and narrative time; 6.11 is presented before the flashback in 6.14–17.
The journey
Moment by moment
Tap a point or a step
Moment 1 of 5 · SB 6.14
The death of his son
Citraketu and his family are overcome by grief.
The heart here: BereavementPressure 10 · Bhakti 4
In the verse · SB 6.14.50-51
“When King Citraketu heard of his son’s death from unknown causes, he became almost blind. Because of his great affection for his son, his lamentation grew like a blazing fire, and as he went to see the dead child, he kept slipping and falling on the ground. Surrounded by his ministers and other officers and the learned brāhmaṇas present, the King approached and fell unconscious at the child’s feet, his hair and dress scattered. When the King, breathing heavily, regained consciousness, his eyes were tearful, and he could not speak.”
A question to carry
How might the meaning of a painful event change when seen in a longer spiritual story?
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