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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 6.10.8

Who is speaking and story frame

योऽध्रुवेणात्मना नाथा न धर्मं न यश: पुमान् ।

ईहेत भूतदयया स शोच्य: स्थावरैरपि ॥ ८ ॥

yo ’dhruveṇātmanā nāthā

na dharmaṁ na yaśaḥ pumān

īheta bhūta-dayayā

sa śocyaḥ sthāvarair api

Translation

O demigods, one who has no compassion for humanity in its suffering and does not sacrifice his impermanent body for the higher causes of religious principles or eternal glory is certainly pitied even by the immovable beings.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Choose Compassion Over Temporary Comfort

  1. 1

    The temporary body should be used for higher religious purposes with compassion for suffering humanity, rather than wasted on bodily comforts.

  2. 2

    Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the Six Gosvāmīs left comfortable lives to show mercy to the fallen souls of the world.

  3. 3

    Following these examples, one should join the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and work to spread religious principles for the benefit of others.

Key points from the purport
  • In this regard, a very exalted example was set by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the Six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana.
  • These Gosvāmīs left their very comfortable lives as ministers, Zamindars and learned scholars and joined Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement, just to show mercy to the fallen souls of the world (dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā).
  • One should join the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, following the examples of such great personalities as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Six Gosvāmīs and, before them, the great sage Dadhīci.

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 6.10.8 quotesSB 11.5.34

Concerning Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu it is said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.34): “We offer our respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Lord, upon whom one should always meditate.

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

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:

Dadhīci Muni, just to hear from the demigods about the principles of religion, jokingly refused to relinquish his body, but for higher purposes he thereafter agreed to give it up, for after death the body is usually eaten by low animals like dogs and jackals. Dadhīci Muni first merged his gross body made of five elements into the original stock of five elements and then engaged his soul at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.10
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yaḥanyone who
  2. adhruveṇaimpermanent
  3. ātmanāby the body
  4. nāthāḥO lords
  5. nanot
  6. dharmamreligious principles
  7. nanot
  8. yaśaḥfame
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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

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 6.10

    In this verse: “religious”, “principles”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 6.10

    In this verse: “compassion”, “suffering”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 6.10

    In this verse: “mercy”

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

What small comfort could I set aside to help others understand spiritual life?

Practice

Use a few minutes normally spent on personal comfort to share a teaching of Kṛṣṇa consciousness with someone willing to hear.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 11.5.34

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 6.10's connections

Live this todayChoose Compassion Over Temporary ComfortThis 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 6.10.8? Get an answer from the verses themselves.