Study a Verse

• It is also to be noted that the ladies who had committed the sinful act of administering poison to the child were very much ashamed, and according to the directions of the brāhmaṇas, they had to undergo atonement for killing the child.
• Those who are sincere souls, after hearing this incident, should refrain from such child-killing and should atone for their sinful activities by taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness very seriously.
• If one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra without offenses, all of one’s sinful actions are surely atoned for immediately, but one should not commit such deeds again, for that is an offense.

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

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 16: King Citraketu Meets the Supreme Lord

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

They atoned for the sinful act of killing a child and gave up their aspiration to have sons. Thereafter, Nārada Muni chanted prayers to Nārāyaṇa, who exists as catur-vyūha, and instructed Citraketu about the Supreme Lord, who creates, maintains and annihilates everything and who is the master of the material nature.