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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 · Texts 6.1.4-5

Who is speaking and story frame

प्रियव्रतोत्तानपदोर्वंशस्तच्चरितानि च ।

द्वीपवर्षसमुद्राद्रिनद्युद्यानवनस्पतीन् ॥ ४ ॥

धरामण्डलसंस्थानं भागलक्षणमानत: ।

ज्योतिषां विवराणां च यथेदमसृजद्विभु: ॥ ५ ॥

priyavratottānapador

vaṁśas tac-caritāni ca

dvīpa-varṣa-samudrādri-

nady-udyāna-vanaspatīn

dharā-maṇḍala-saṁsthānaṁ

bhāga-lakṣaṇa-mānataḥ

jyotiṣāṁ vivarāṇāṁ ca

yathedam asṛjad vibhuḥ

Translation

My dear lord, you have described the dynasties and characteristics of King Priyavrata and King Uttānapāda. The Supreme Personality of Godhead created this material world with various universes, planetary systems, planets and stars, with varied lands, seas, oceans, mountains, rivers, gardens and trees, all with different characteristics. These are divided among this planet earth, the luminaries in the sky and the lower planetary systems. You have very clearly described these planets and the living entities who live on them.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Recognize Kṛṣṇa as the Source of Everything

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead created the material world with its varied planets, stars, lands, oceans and living beings. Creation rests on His intelligence and almighty power.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything, and His energy is displayed in various ways. Understanding this leads one to become firmly situated in devotional service and surrender at His lotus feet.

  3. 3

    Association with devotees and reading authorized books help one gradually understand Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy. True knowledge leads to surrender to Him as the cause of all causes.

Key points from the purport
  • Here the words yathedam asṛjad vibhuḥ clearly indicate that the Supreme, the great, almighty Personality of Godhead, created this entire material world with its different varieties of planets, stars and so forth.
  • As explained in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5), a combination of the material energy (bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ) and the spiritual energy, the living entity, exists in every creation.
  • Therefore the same principle, the combination of the supreme spirit and the material elements, is the cause of the cosmic manifestation.

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· 3

The purport of SB 6.1.4-5 quotesBG 10.8

In Bhagavad-gītā (10.8), the Lord says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo: “I am the origin of everything.”

The purport of SB 6.1.4-5 quotesBG 7.19

As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19): “After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is.

The purport of SB 6.1.4-5 quotesBG 7.4

As explained in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5), a combination of the material energy (bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ) and the spiritual energy, the living entity, exists in every creation.

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:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the speaker of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, has already described creation, subsequent creation and the planetary systems in the Third, Fourth and Fifth Cantos. Now, in this Sixth Canto, which consists of nineteen chapters, he will describe poṣaṇa, or protection by the Lord.
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. priyavrataof Priyavrata
  2. uttānapadoḥand of Uttānapāda
  3. vaṁśaḥthe dynasty
  4. tat-caritānitheir characteristics
  5. caalso
  6. dvīpadifferent planets
  7. varṣalands
  8. samudraoceans and seas
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sthāna · Planetary systems

    How is the universe arranged, and what is our right place in it? · Subject 3 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.1

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 6.1

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotees”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 6.1

    In this verse: “king”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might recognizing Kṛṣṇa as the source of creation change the way I see the world?

Practice

Notice a tree, a river or the sky today, and remember that its source is Kṛṣṇa.

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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.

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

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Connected stories

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

Live this todayRecognize Kṛṣṇa as the Source of EverythingThis 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 6.1.4-5? Get an answer from the verses themselves.