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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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 12: Vṛtrāsura’s Glorious Death

6.12.12 6.12.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.12.13

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Vṛtrāsurasince 6.12.7inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

आयु: श्री: कीर्तिरैश्वर्यमाशिष: पुरुषस्य या: ।

भवन्त्येव हि तत्काले यथानिच्छोर्विपर्यया: ॥ १३ ॥

āyuḥ śrīḥ kīrtir aiśvaryam

āśiṣaḥ puruṣasya yāḥ

bhavanty eva hi tat-kāle

yathānicchor viparyayāḥ

Translation

Just as a person not inclined to die must nonetheless give up his longevity, opulence, fame and everything else at the time of death, so, at the appointed time of victory, one can gain all these when the Supreme Lord awards them by His mercy.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Receive Good Fortune Without Pride

1
It is not good to boast that wealth, learning or beauty comes solely from one’s own effort. All such good fortune comes through the Lord’s mercy.
2
Material gains and losses depend on the mercy or chastisement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We cannot always prevent unwanted changes.
3
The Lord can take away what we wish to keep or give blessings beyond our ambitions. In both prosperity and distress, we remain dependent on His will.

Key points from the purport

It is due to the mercy or chastisement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that one gains or loses everything material.
No one is independent; everyone is dependent on the mercy or chastisement of the Supreme Lord.
Therefore either in opulence or in distress we are not independent; everything is dependent on the sweet will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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

Danger → Fearless longing. A seeming enemy reveals the heart of a great devotee.

Chapters 11–13 of Canto 6: Vṛtrāsura's prayers and final battle. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 12: Vṛtrāsura’s Glorious Death

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Not knowing that the Supreme Lord is the cause of all causes, fools and rascals try to take credit for victory or defeat themselves, but everything is actually under the control of the Lord. No one but Him has any independence.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 6.12

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

āyuḥlongevity
śrīḥopulence
kīrtiḥfame
aiśvaryampower
āśiṣaḥbenedictions
puruṣasyaof the living entity
yāḥwhich
bhavantiarise

Key ideas in this verse

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

Āśraya · The summum bonum
Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10
Kṛpā · Divine mercy
Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 6.12
In this verse: “mercy”, “blessings”
Abhaya · Fearlessness
Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 6.12
In this verse: “death”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.12
In this verse: “wealth”, “material”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which good fortune have I been treating as entirely my own achievement?

Practice

Name one blessing you have received and thank the Supreme Lord for His mercy.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayReceive Good Fortune Without PrideThis 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.

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