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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
6.16.376.16.39

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.16.38

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Citraketusince 6.16.34inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

विषयतृषो नरपशवो

य उपासते विभूतीर्न परं त्वाम् ।

तेषामाशिष ईश

तदनु विनश्यन्ति यथा राजकुलम् ॥ ३८ ॥

viṣaya-tṛṣo nara-paśavo

ya upāsate vibhūtīr na paraṁ tvām

teṣām āśiṣa īśa

tad anu vinaśyanti yathā rāja-kulam

Translation

O Lord, O Supreme, unintelligent persons who thirst for sense enjoyment and who worship various demigods are no better than animals in the human form of life. Because of their animalistic propensities, they fail to worship Your Lordship, and instead they worship the insignificant demigods, who are but small sparks of Your glory. With the destruction of the entire universe, including the demigods, the benedictions received from the demigods also vanish, just like the nobility when a king is no longer in power.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Choose Devotional Service Over Temporary Rewards

  1. 1

    Material desires lead people to worship demigods instead of the Supreme Lord. The purport distinguishes showing respect to demigods from worshiping them.

  2. 2

    The demigods oversee departments of the material manifestation, and their benedictions vanish when that manifestation is destroyed. Such rewards cannot provide a lasting goal.

  3. 3

    Whether one has material desires, no material desires or a desire for liberation, one should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead through devotional service. Human life should be directed toward Kṛṣṇa consciousness rather than merely sense enjoyment.

Key points from the purport
  • The intelligence of those who worship the demigods is lost (hṛta jñānāḥ) because these worshipers do not know that when the entire material cosmic manifestation is annihilated, the demigods, who are the departmental heads of that manifestation, will be vanquished.
  • When the demigods are vanquished, the benedictions given by the demigods to unintelligent men will also be vanquished.
  • Therefore a devotee should not hanker to obtain material opulence by worshiping the demigods, but should engage in the service of the Lord, who will satisfy all his desires.

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 6.16.38 quotesBG 7.20

Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) says, kāmais tais tair hṛta jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ: “Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto the demigods.”

The purport of SB 6.16.38 quotesSB 2.3.10

“Whether full of all material desires, free from material desires or desiring liberation, a person who has broader intelligence must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.”

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 16: King Citraketu Meets the Supreme Lord

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

According to the reactions of one’s fruitive activities, one takes birth in various species of life among the birds, beasts, trees, human beings, demigods and so on, thus rotating through various bodies. For a certain period of time, one receives a particular type of body as a son or father in a false relationship.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. viṣaya-tṛṣaḥeager to enjoy sense gratification
  2. nara-paśavaḥmanlike animals
  3. yewho
  4. upāsateworship very gorgeously
  5. vibhūtīḥsmall particles of the Supreme Lord (the demigods)
  6. nanot
  7. paramthe Supreme
  8. tvāmYou
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “worship”, “devotional service”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “king”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “material”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Are you approaching worship mainly for temporary rewards or for service to the Supreme Lord?

Practice

Name one material reward you are hoping for, then offer a prayer asking to engage in the Lord’s service rather than making that reward your goal.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 2.3.10

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 6.16's connections

Live this todayChoose Devotional Service Over Temporary RewardsThis 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 6.16.38? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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