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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 1 · Creation · 19 chapters

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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 1 · Chapter 16: How Parīkṣit Received the Age of Kali
1.16.51.16.7

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.16.6

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śaunaka Ṛṣisince 1.16.5inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

अथवास्य पदाम्भोजमकरन्दलिहां सताम् ।

किमन्यैरसदालापैरायुषो यदसद्व्यय: ॥ ६ ॥

athavāsya padāmbhoja-

makaranda-lihāṁ satām

kim anyair asad-ālāpair

āyuṣo yad asad-vyayaḥ

Translation

The devotees of the Lord are accustomed to licking up the honey available from the lotus feet of the Lord. What is the use of topics which simply waste one’s valuable life?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Use Precious Time for Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    Lord Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotees are on the transcendental plane. Therefore, hearing about the Lord and hearing about His pure devotees are equally valuable.

  2. 2

    Ordinary subjects need not be discarded when they are connected with the Lord or His pure devotees. That connection makes them transcendental.

  3. 3

    Life is short, and its end is uncertain, so valuable time should not be wasted on topics unrelated to Kṛṣṇa. The living being is eternal and, when freed from material energy, can return home, back to Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa and His devotees are both on the transcendental plane; therefore the topics of Lord Kṛṣṇa and of His pure devotees are equally good.
  • Thus it is our duty to see that not a moment of our life is wasted in topics which are not related with Lord Kṛṣṇa.
  • Therefore it is said that Lord Kṛṣṇa has lotus feet.

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

Moral alarm → Resolve. The king's duty is tested in a deteriorating age.

Chapters 16–17 of Canto 1: Parīkṣit confronts Kali. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 16: How Parīkṣit Received the Age of Kali

Parīkṣit rules as a devotee while the personality of religion and mother earth discuss their distress.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. athavāotherwise
  2. asyaof His (Lord Kṛṣṇa’s)
  3. pada-ambhojalotus feet
  4. makaranda-lihāmof those who lick the honey from such a lotus flower
  5. satāmof those who are to exist eternally
  6. kim anyaiḥwhat is the use of anything else
  7. asatillusory
  8. ālāpaiḥtopics
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.16

    In this verse: “devotees”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 1.16

    In this verse: “material”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 1.16

    In this verse: “hearing”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which part of my daily conversation could become more closely connected with Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Replace five minutes of idle conversation or reading with hearing about Lord Kṛṣṇa or His pure devotees.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

7

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 1.16's connections

Live this todayUse Precious Time for KṛṣṇaThis 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 1.16.6? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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