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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.
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Canto 6 · Chapter 15: The Saints Nārada and Aṅgirā Instruct King Citraketu
6.15.96.15.11

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.15.10

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:King Citraketusince 6.15.10inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीराजोवाच

कौ युवां ज्ञानसम्पन्नौ महिष्ठौ च महीयसाम् ।

अवधूतेन वेषेण गूढाविह समागतौ ॥ १० ॥

śrī-rājovāca

kau yuvāṁ jñāna-sampannau

mahiṣṭhau ca mahīyasām

avadhūtena veṣeṇa

gūḍhāv iha samāgatau

Translation

King Citraketu said: You have both come here dressed like avadhūtas, liberated persons, just to cover your identities, but I see that of all men, you are the most elevated in awareness. You know everything as it is. Therefore you are the greatest of all great personalities.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Recognize Greatness Through Spiritual Awareness

  1. 1

    Citraketu saw that the two sages had come dressed as avadhūtas, liberated persons, concealing their identities.

  2. 2

    Despite their concealed identities, he recognized their elevated awareness and their knowledge of things as they are.

  3. 3

    The King honored them as the greatest of great personalities because of their understanding.

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

Further reading

Chapter 15: The Saints Nārada and Aṅgirā Instruct King Citraketu

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

By the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything created in the material world is transient. By a temporary arrangement, a father begets a child, or a living entity becomes the child of a so-called father.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.15
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-rājā uvācaKing Citraketu said
  2. kauwho
  3. yuvāmyou two
  4. jñāna-sampannaufully developed in knowledge
  5. mahiṣṭhauthe greatest
  6. caalso
  7. mahīyasāmamong other great personalities
  8. avadhūtenaof the liberated wandering mendicants
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 6.15

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understanding”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 6.15

    In this verse: “king”

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

Do I value a person’s spiritual understanding more than outward appearance?

Practice

Reread the King’s words and note the quality for which he honored the sages.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRecognize Greatness Through Spiritual AwarenessThis 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 6.15.10? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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