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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
6.15.18-196.15.21-23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.15.20

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Aṅgirāsince 6.15.17inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitAṅgirā and Nārada Muni → King Citraketu

तदैव ते परं ज्ञानं ददामि गृहमागत: ।

ज्ञात्वान्याभिनिवेशं ते पुत्रमेव ददाम्यहम् ॥ २० ॥

tadaiva te paraṁ jñānaṁ

dadāmi gṛham āgataḥ

jñātvānyābhiniveśaṁ te

putram eva dadāmy aham

Translation

When I first came to your home, I could have given you the supreme transcendental knowledge, but when I saw that your mind was absorbed in material things, I gave you only a son, who caused you jubilation and lamentation.

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.

Material Absorption Obstructs Receiving Higher Knowledge

  1. 1

    The sage could have given the King supreme transcendental knowledge when he first visited.

  2. 2

    Seeing that the King's mind was absorbed in material things, he gave him only a son.

  3. 3

    The son brought both jubilation and lamentation. The desired material gift did not provide unbroken happiness.

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:

As the King listened to the great sages, he was relieved from his false lamentation, and then he inquired about their identity. The great sages presented who they were and instructed that all sufferings are due to the bodily conception of life.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.15
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tadāthen
  2. evaindeed
  3. teunto you
  4. paramtranscendental
  5. jñānamknowledge
  6. dadāmiI would have delivered
  7. gṛhamto your home
  8. āgataḥcame
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.15

    In this verse: “material”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 6.15

    In this verse: “lamentation”

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 material desire is taking attention I could give to transcendental knowledge?

Practice

Set aside one material preoccupation for five minutes and carefully reread this translation.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMaterial Absorption Obstructs Receiving Higher KnowledgeThis 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 6.15.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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