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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
  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.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.15.25

Who is speaking and story frame

अयं हि देहिनो देहो द्रव्यज्ञानक्रियात्मक: ।

देहिनो विविधक्लेशसन्तापकृदुदाहृत: ॥ २५ ॥

ayaṁ hi dehino deho

dravya-jñāna-kriyātmakaḥ

dehino vividha-kleśa-

santāpa-kṛd udāhṛtaḥ

Translation

The living entity in the bodily conception of life is absorbed in the body, which is a combination of the physical elements, the five senses for gathering knowledge, and the five senses of action, along with the mind. Through the mind the living entity suffers three kinds of tribulations — adhibhautika, adhidaivika and adhyātmika. Therefore this body is a source of all miseries.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Know Yourself Beyond Body and Mind

  1. 1

    The temporary body, its senses and the mind involve the living entity in material suffering. The mind is central to this involvement.

  2. 2

    When a material possession is damaged, the mind is affected, and through the mind the living entity suffers. Destructible matter cannot provide secure happiness.

  3. 3

    The living entity is an eternal part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Understanding oneself as a spiritual soul brings one beyond lamentation and hankering.

Key points from the purport
  • For example, with the material elements, the working senses and the knowledge-gathering senses we create a very nice car, and when the car is accidentally smashed in a collision, the mind suffers, and through the mind the living entity suffers.
  • The fact is that the living entity, while concocting with the mind, creates the material condition.
  • The living entity is actually part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is unaffected by material conditions, but because the mind (manaḥ) is affected, the senses are affected, and the living entity struggles for existence within this material world.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 2

The purport of SB 6.15.25 quotesBG 18.54

As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.54): “One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful.

The purport of SB 6.15.25 quotesBG 15.7

Elsewhere in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7) the Lord says: “The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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:

The great sages presented who they were and instructed that all sufferings are due to the bodily conception of life. When one understands his spiritual identity and surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme spiritual person, one becomes actually happy.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.15
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ayamthis
  2. hicertainly
  3. dehinaḥof the living entity
  4. dehaḥbody
  5. dravya-jñāna-kriyā-ātmakaḥconsisting of the material elements, the senses for acquiring knowledge, and the acting senses
  6. dehinaḥof the living entity
  7. vividhavarious
  8. kleśasufferings
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understanding”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 6.15

    In this verse: “suffering”

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

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does my mind connect my happiness to things that can be damaged or lost?

Practice

When concern about a possession arises today, pause and recall: “I am a spiritual soul, an eternal part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

Quoted in 2 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 2 lectures

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

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Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Live this todayKnow Yourself Beyond Body and MindThis 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 6.15.25? Get an answer from the verses themselves.