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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
6.16.326.16.34

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.16.33

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 6.16.26inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

तत: समाधाय मनो मनीषया

बभाष एतत्प्रतिलब्धवागसौ ।

नियम्य सर्वेन्द्रियबाह्यवर्तनं

जगद्गुरुं सात्वतशास्त्रविग्रहम् ॥ ३३ ॥

tataḥ samādhāya mano manīṣayā

babhāṣa etat pratilabdha-vāg asau

niyamya sarvendriya-bāhya-vartanaṁ

jagad-guruṁ sātvata-śāstra-vigraham

Translation

Thereafter, by controlling his mind with his intelligence and thus restricting his senses from external engagements, he recovered suitable words with which to express his feelings. Thus he began offering prayers to the Lord, who is the personification of the holy scriptures [the sātvata-saṁhitās like the Brahma-saṁhitā and the Nārada-pañcarātra] and who is the spiritual master of all. He offered his prayers as follows.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Prepare the Mind for Authorized Prayer

  1. 1

    By controlling his mind and withdrawing his senses from external engagements, Citraketu recovered suitable words for prayer. Spiritual advancement, rather than mundane words alone, prepares one to pray.

  2. 2

    Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī instructs devotees to sing songs composed by authorized devotees. The purport emphasizes Vaiṣṇava behavior, following the rules and regulations, and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

  3. 3

    The Lord is the spiritual master of all and the personification of the holy scriptures. His spiritual body is not made of māyā, and His form is not imaginary.

Key points from the purport
  • One cannot offer prayers to the Lord with mundane words.
  • The words sātvata-śāstra-vigraham indicate that the sac-cid-ānanda body of the Lord can never be accepted to be made of māyā.
  • Devotees do not offer prayers to the Lord in an imaginary form.

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:

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. After instructing King Citraketu in this way, he returned to Brahmaloka.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.16
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tataḥthereafter
  2. samādhāyacontrolling
  3. manaḥthe mind
  4. manīṣayāby his intelligence
  5. babhāṣaspoke
  6. etatthis
  7. pratilabdharecovering
  8. vākspeech
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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 6.16

    In this verse: “māyā”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “devotees”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “chanting”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How could you give your mind and senses more fully to authorized devotional prayer?

Practice

Set aside one distraction and spend a minute attentively chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

Quoted in 1 lecture. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 1 lecture

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

Live this todayPrepare the Mind for Authorized PrayerThis 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 6.16.33? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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