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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 14: King Citraketu’s Lamentation

6.14.24 6.14.26

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.14.25

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:King Citraketusince 6.14.23inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

लोकपालैरपि प्रार्थ्या: साम्राज्यैश्वर्यसम्पद: ।

न नन्दयन्त्यप्रजं मां क्षुत्तृट्काममिवापरे ॥ २५ ॥

loka-pālair api prārthyāḥ

sāmrājyaiśvarya-sampadaḥ

na nandayanty aprajaṁ māṁ

kṣut-tṛṭ-kāmam ivāpare

Translation

As a person aggrieved by hunger and thirst is not pleased by the external gratification of flower garlands or sandalwood pulp, I am not pleased with my empire, opulence or possessions, which are desirable even for great demigods, because I have no son.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Opulence Cannot Satisfy Every Longing

1
Citraketu possessed an empire, opulence and possessions desirable even to great demigods.
2
Yet these things gave him no pleasure because he had no son.
3
He compared himself to a hungry and thirsty person who cannot be satisfied by flower garlands or sandalwood pulp.

How it feels

Parental grief → Detachment and surrender. A flashback discloses the devotional history behind Vṛtrāsura.

Chapters 14–17 of Canto 6: Citraketu's grief, realization and curse. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 14: King Citraketu’s Lamentation

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Therefore such devotees are extremely rare. Since bhakti, devotional service, is not ordinary, Parīkṣit Mahārāja was astonished that an asura could rise to the exalted position of a devotee.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 6.14

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

loka-pālaiḥby great demigods
apieven
prārthyāḥdesirable
sāmrājyaa great empire
aiśvaryamaterial opulence
sampadaḥpossessions
na nandayantido not give pleasure
aprajambecause of having no son

Key ideas in this verse

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

Ūti · The creative impetus
Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I seeking outward comforts while leaving the actual cause of my dissatisfaction unexamined?

Practice

Identify one dissatisfaction today and write down why an unrelated comfort would not resolve it.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayOpulence Cannot Satisfy Every LongingThis 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 6.14.25? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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