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

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Canto 12 · The Age of Deterioration · 13 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

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How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.

Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Canto 12 · Chapter 6: Mahārāja Parīkṣit Passes Away

12.6.45 12.6.47

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.6.46

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 12.6.37inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

ते परम्परया प्राप्तास्तत्तच्छिष्यैर्धृतव्रतै: ।

चतुर्युगेष्वथ व्यस्ता द्वापरादौ महर्षिभि: ॥ ४६ ॥

te paramparayā prāptās

tat-tac-chiṣyair dhṛta-vrataiḥ

catur-yugeṣv atha vyastā

dvāparādau maharṣibhiḥ

Translation

In this way, throughout the cycles of four ages, generation after generation of disciples — all firmly fixed in their spiritual vows — have received these Vedas by disciplic succession. At the end of each Dvāpara-yuga the Vedas are edited into separate divisions by eminent sages.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Disciplic Succession Preserves the Vedas

1
Generation after generation of disciples received the Vedas through disciplic succession.
2
These disciples remained firmly fixed in their spiritual vows throughout the cycles of four ages.
3
At the end of each Dvāpara-yuga, eminent sages edited the Vedas into separate divisions.

How it feels

Approaching death → Demonstrated fearlessness. Parīkṣit is already a great devotee; his final hearing exemplifies fearlessness for the audience.

Chapters 5–6 of Canto 12: Śukadeva's final instruction and Parīkṣit's passing. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 6: Mahārāja Parīkṣit Passes Away

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

This body of Vedic knowledge was handed down through the disciplic succession of spiritual masters until the end of Dvāpara-yuga, when Lord Vyāsadeva divided it into four parts and instructed various schools of sages in these four saṁhitās. When the sage Yājñavalkya was rejected by his spiritual master, he had to give up all the Vedic mantras he had received from him.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 12.6