Study a Verse

• According to Vedic culture, the three higher classes of society (the intellectual, political and mercantile sections) are formally connected with the spiritual master by initiation and receive the Gāyatrī mantra.
• This purifying mantra is chanted three times daily — at sunrise, noon and sunset.
• Auspicious moments for the performance of spiritual duties are calculated according to the sun’s path in the sky, and this systematic scheduling of spiritual duties is here attributed to the sun as the representative of God.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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.