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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
6.10.326.11.1

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.10.33

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vṛtrāsurasince 6.10.32inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

द्वौ सम्मताविह मृत्यू दुरापौ

यद् ब्रह्मसन्धारणया जितासु: ।

कलेवरं योगरतो विजह्याद्

यदग्रणीर्वीरशयेऽनिवृत्त: ॥ ३३ ॥

dvau sammatāv iha mṛtyū durāpau

yad brahma-sandhāraṇayā jitāsuḥ

kalevaraṁ yoga-rato vijahyād

yad agraṇīr vīra-śaye ’nivṛttaḥ

Translation

There are two ways to meet a glorious death, and both are very rare. One is to die after performing mystic yoga, especially bhakti-yoga, by which one can control the mind and living force and die absorbed in thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The second is to die on the battlefield, leading the army and never showing one’s back. These two kinds of death are recommended in the śāstra as glorious.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Absorption in the Supreme Makes Death Glorious

  1. 1

    The śāstra recommends two kinds of glorious death, both of which are very rare.

  2. 2

    One follows the practice of mystic yoga, especially bhakti-yoga: controlling the mind and living force and dying absorbed in thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  3. 3

    The other is to die on the battlefield while leading the army and never turning one’s back.

Key points from the purport
  • Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Sixth Canto, Tenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Battle Between the Demigods and Vṛtrāsura.”

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:

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. In either way, the fighter benefits.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.10
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dvautwo
  2. sammatauapproved (by śāstra and great personalities)
  3. ihain this world
  4. mṛtyūdeaths
  5. durāpauextremely rare
  6. yatwhich
  7. brahma-sandhāraṇayāwith concentration on Brahman, Paramātmā or Parabrahma, Kṛṣṇa
  8. jita-asuḥcontrolling the mind and senses
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

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

    In this verse: “death”, “dying”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 6.10

    In this verse: “bhakti-yoga”

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 can I make remembrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead more central to my devotional practice?

Practice

Set aside one quiet minute today for devotional remembrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayAbsorption in the Supreme Makes Death GloriousThis 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 6.10.33? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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