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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 ›
Canto 6 · Chapter 16: King Citraketu Meets the Supreme Lord
6.16.236.16.25

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.16.24

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 6.16.12inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitAṅgirā and Nārada Muni → King Citraketu

देहेन्द्रियप्राणमनोधियोऽमी

यदंशविद्धा: प्रचरन्ति कर्मसु ।

नैवान्यदा लौहमिवाप्रतप्तं

स्थानेषु तद् द्रष्ट्रपदेशमेति ॥ २४ ॥

dehendriya-prāṇa-mano-dhiyo ’mī

yad-aṁśa-viddhāḥ pracaranti karmasu

naivānyadā lauham ivāprataptaṁ

sthāneṣu tad draṣṭrapadeśam eti

Translation

As iron has the power to burn when made red-hot in the association of fire, so the body, senses, living force, mind and intelligence, although merely lumps of matter, can function in their activities when infused with a particle of consciousness by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As iron cannot burn unless heated by fire, the bodily senses cannot act unless favored by the Supreme Brahman.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Empowers Our Senses

  1. 1

    The body, senses, mind and intelligence are merely matter and have no independent power to act. Like iron heated by fire, they function through the Supreme Lord’s power.

  2. 2

    The consciousness of the small particle of Brahman depends fully on the Supreme Brahman. Memory, knowledge and forgetfulness come from the Lord.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is called Hṛṣīkeśa, the conductor of the senses. Unless empowered by His energy, our senses cannot act.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore the consciousness of the small particle of Brahman is fully dependent on the power of the Supreme Brahman.
  • The power for activities comes from the Supreme Lord, and when the Lord withdraws this power, the conditioned soul no longer has energy with which to act through his various senses.
  • For example, the brain is nothing but matter, but when electrified by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the brain can act, just as iron can burn when made red-hot by the influence of fire.

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

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 16: King Citraketu Meets the Supreme Lord

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Unless one becomes a devotee, one cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. After Citraketu finished his prayers, the unlimited Supreme Lord explained knowledge of Himself to Citraketu.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dehathe body
  2. indriyasenses
  3. prāṇalife airs
  4. manaḥmind
  5. dhiyaḥand intelligence
  6. amīall those
  7. yat-aṁśa-viddhāḥbeing influenced by rays of Brahman, or the Supreme Lord
  8. pracarantithey move
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “favored”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “knowledge”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might your use of your senses change if you remembered that Kṛṣṇa empowers them?

Practice

Before one activity today, pause and acknowledge that your ability to act depends on Kṛṣṇa.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Empowers Our SensesThis 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 6.16.24? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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