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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
6.16.386.16.40

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.16.39

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Citraketusince 6.16.34inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

कामधियस्त्वयि रचिता

न परम रोहन्ति यथा करम्भबीजानि ।

ज्ञानात्मन्यगुणमये

गुणगणतोऽस्य द्वन्द्वजालानि ॥ ३९ ॥

kāma-dhiyas tvayi racitā

na parama rohanti yathā karambha-bījāni

jñānātmany aguṇamaye

guṇa-gaṇato ’sya dvandva-jālāni

Translation

O Supreme Lord, if persons obsessed with material desires for sense gratification through material opulence worship You, who are the source of all knowledge and are transcendental to material qualities, they are not subject to material rebirth, just as sterilized or fried seeds do not produce plants. Living entities are subjected to the repetition of birth and death because they are conditioned by material nature, but since You are transcendental, one who is inclined to associate with You in transcendence escapes the conditions of material nature.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Attraction to Kṛṣṇa Frees Us

  1. 1

    By engaging in Kṛṣṇa consciousness to understand Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one becomes free from repeated birth and death and fit to return to Godhead.

  2. 2

    Even someone with many material desires can become increasingly attracted to Kṛṣṇa by chanting His holy name. The Supreme Lord and His holy name are identical.

  3. 3

    As attraction to Kṛṣṇa grows, attachment to material enjoyment decreases. The perfection of life is to be uninterested in material enjoyment and interested in Kṛṣṇa.

Key points from the purport
  • Even those who are obsessed with material desires may also come to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead so steadily that they go back to Godhead.
  • The fact is that if one comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, although he may have many material desires, he becomes increasingly attracted to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa through associating with the Supreme Lord by chanting His holy name.
  • Whether for the satisfaction of material desires, because of the influence of envy, because of fear, because of affection or because of any other reason, if one comes to Kṛṣṇa, his life is successful.

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· 1

The purport of SB 6.16.39 quotesBG 4.9

This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9), wherein the Lord says: “One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.”

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:

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kāma-dhiyaḥdesires for sense gratification
  2. tvayiin You
  3. racitāḥperformed
  4. nanot
  5. paramaO Supreme Personality of Godhead
  6. rohantido grow (produce other bodies)
  7. yathājust as
  8. karambha-bījānisterilized or fried seeds
3

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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “sense gratification”, “material”, “attachment”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understand”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “worship”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What material desire can I bring honestly before Kṛṣṇa while seeking greater attraction to Him?

Practice

Spend two minutes chanting Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, remembering that He and His name are identical.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayAttraction to Kṛṣṇa Frees UsThis 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 6.16.39? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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