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

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Canto 6 · Prescribed Duties for Mankind · 19 chapters

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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.1.31

Who is speaking and story frame

विकर्षतोऽन्तर्हृदयाद्दासीपतिमजामिलम् ।

यमप्रेष्यान् विष्णुदूता वारयामासुरोजसा ॥ ३१ ॥

vikarṣato ’ntar hṛdayād

dāsī-patim ajāmilam

yama-preṣyān viṣṇudūtā

vārayām āsur ojasā

Translation

The order carriers of Yamarāja were snatching the soul from the core of the heart of Ajāmila, the husband of the prostitute, but with resounding voices the messengers of Lord Viṣṇu, the Viṣṇudūtas, forbade them to do so.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Protects His Surrendered Devotees

  1. 1

    A Vaiṣṇava, one surrendered to Lord Viṣṇu’s lotus feet, is always protected by His messengers. Because Ajāmila had chanted Nārāyaṇa’s name, the Viṣṇudūtas ordered the Yamadūtas not to touch him.

  2. 2

    The individual soul and the Supersoul, Lord Viṣṇu, are both situated within the heart. The Lord is so kind that He accompanies the individual soul from one body to another.

  3. 3

    The body is a machine driven by the individual soul, but its supreme proprietor is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Another body is provided according to the soul’s desires and activities under the Lord’s supervision.

Key points from the purport
  • The Supersoul is said to be friendly because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is so kind to the original soul that when the original soul transmigrates from one body to another, the Lord goes with him.
  • Furthermore, according to the desire and karma of the individual soul, the Lord, through the agency of māyā, creates another body for him.
  • During transmigration from one body to the next, the soul is taken away by the order carriers of Yamarāja and put into a particular type of hellish life (naraka) in order to become accustomed to the condition in which he will live in his next body.

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

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 6.1.31 quotesBG 18.61

As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61): “The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.”

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Guilt and mortal terror → Mercy and renewed devotion. The holy name opens a path beyond an apparently hopeless death.

Chapters 1–3 of Canto 6: Ajāmila and the Viṣṇudūtas. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 1: The History of the Life of Ajāmila

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Fruitive activities and speculative knowledge cannot independently liberate anyone, but devotional service, independent of karma and jñāna, is so potent that one who has fixed his mind at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa is guaranteed not to meet the Yamadūtas, the order carriers of Yamarāja, even in dreams. To prove the strength of devotional service, Śukadeva Gosvāmī described the history of Ajāmila.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.1
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. vikarṣataḥsnatching
  2. antaḥ hṛdayātfrom within the heart
  3. dāsī-patimthe husband of the prostitute
  4. ajāmilamAjāmila
  5. yama-preṣyānthe messengers of Yamarāja
  6. viṣṇu-dūtāḥthe order carriers of Lord Viṣṇu
  7. vārayām āsuḥforbade
  8. ojasāwith resounding voices
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 6.1

    In this verse: “chanted”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 6.1

    In this verse: “surrendered”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 6.1

    In this verse: “protected”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might remembering the Lord’s presence in my heart change my sense of dependence on Him?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer to Lord Viṣṇu, acknowledging His presence in your heart and asking to serve Him.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

3 lectures given on it · quoted in 1 more lecture. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Show 1 more lecture on it
Quoted in 1 other lecture

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayThe Lord Protects His Surrendered DevoteesThis 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 6.1.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.