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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

6.14.56 6.14.58

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.14.57

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 6.14.42inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

उत्तिष्ठ तात त इमे शिशवो वयस्या-

स्त्वामाह्वयन्ति नृपनन्दन संविहर्तुम् ।

सुप्तश्चिरं ह्यशनया च भवान् परीतो

भुङ्‌क्ष्व स्तनं पिब शुचो हर न: स्वकानाम् ॥ ५७ ॥

uttiṣṭha tāta ta ime śiśavo vayasyās

tvām āhvayanti nṛpa-nandana saṁvihartum

suptaś ciraṁ hy aśanayā ca bhavān parīto

bhuṅkṣva stanaṁ piba śuco hara naḥ svakānām

Translation

My dear son, you have slept a long time. Now please get up. Your playmates are calling you to play. Since you must be very hungry, please get up and suck my breast and dissipate our lamentation.

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.

A Mother Longs for Her Child

1
The Queen addresses her dead son as though he has been sleeping a long time and asks him to get up.
2
She tells him that his playmates are calling him to play.
3
Thinking of his hunger, she asks him to nurse and relieve the lamentation of his family.

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:

Citraketu was overwhelmed by shock at his son’s death. Then Nārada Muni and Aṅgirā went to see him.

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

uttiṣṭhakindly get up
tātamy dear son
tethey
imeall these
śiśavaḥchildren
vayasyāḥplaymates
tvāmyou
āhvayantiare calling

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
Viraha · Longing in separation
Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 6.14
In this verse: “lamentation”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does the Queen’s appeal reveal about the depth of a mother’s affection?

Practice

Pause over the Queen’s words and name one ordinary act of care that they describe.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayA Mother Longs for Her ChildThis 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 6.14.57? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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