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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 ›
Canto 6 · Chapter 10: The Battle Between the Demigods and Vṛtrāsura
6.10.316.10.33

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.10.32

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vṛtrāsurasince 6.10.32inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

जातस्य मृत्युर्ध्रुव एव सर्वत:

प्रतिक्रिया यस्य न चेह क्लृप्ता ।

लोको यशश्चाथ ततो यदि ह्यमुं

को नाम मृत्युं न वृणीत युक्तम् ॥ ३२ ॥

jātasya mṛtyur dhruva eva sarvataḥ

pratikriyā yasya na ceha kḷptā

loko yaśaś cātha tato yadi hy amuṁ

ko nāma mṛtyuṁ na vṛṇīta yuktam

Translation

Vṛtrāsura said: All living entities who have taken birth in this material world must die. Surely, no one in this world has found any means to be saved from death. Even providence has not provided a means to escape it. Under the circumstances, death being inevitable, if one can gain promotion to the higher planetary systems and be always celebrated here by dying a suitable death, what man will not accept such a glorious death?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Face Mortality With Worthy Deeds

  1. 1

    Every living entity born in the material world must die. No means of escaping death has been provided.

  2. 2

    Vṛtrāsura argues that a suitable death can bring promotion to higher planetary systems and lasting honor.

  3. 3

    The purport recalls Kṛṣṇa’s advice to Arjuna: victory would bring a kingdom, while death in battle would bring elevation to heavenly planets. It emphasizes performing glorious deeds rather than meeting an undistinguished death.

Key points from the purport
  • If by dying one can be elevated to the higher planetary systems and be ever-famous after his death, who is so foolish that he will refuse such a glorious death?
  • If you gain victory in the fight, you will enjoy a kingdom, and even if you die you will be elevated to the heavenly planets.”
  • A glorious person is not meant to meet death like cats and dogs.

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

Offense and dread → Moral reckoning. Heroic power does not guarantee inner freedom.

Chapters 7–10 of Canto 6: Indra, Bṛhaspati and the emergence of Vṛtrāsura. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 10: The Battle Between the Demigods and Vṛtrāsura

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Vṛtrāsura, however, seeing the demons fleeing, instructed them in the importance of fighting and dying in the battlefield. One who is victorious in battle gains material possessions, and one who dies in the battlefield attains a residence at once in the celestial heavens.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.10
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. jātasyaof one who has taken birth (all living beings)
  2. mṛtyuḥdeath
  3. dhruvaḥinevitable
  4. evaindeed
  5. sarvataḥeverywhere in the universe
  6. pratikriyācounteraction
  7. yasyaof which
  8. nanot
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 6.10

    In this verse: “death”, “dying”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.10

    In this verse: “material”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 6.10

    In this verse: “saved”

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

How does remembering that life is temporary affect the deeds I choose?

Practice

Take a quiet minute to reflect on life’s limited time, then complete one worthwhile task you have been postponing.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayFace Mortality With Worthy DeedsThis 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 6.10.32? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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