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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
6.16.396.16.41

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.16.40

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

जितमजित तदा भवता

यदाह भागवतं धर्ममनवद्यम् ।

निष्किञ्चना ये मुनय

आत्मारामा यमुपासतेऽपवर्गाय ॥ ४० ॥

jitam ajita tadā bhavatā

yadāha bhāgavataṁ dharmam anavadyam

niṣkiñcanā ye munaya

ātmārāmā yam upāsate ’pavargāya

Translation

O unconquerable one, when You spoke about bhāgavata-dharma, which is the uncontaminated religious system for achieving the shelter of Your lotus feet, that was Your victory. Persons who have no material desires, like the Kumāras, who are self-satisfied sages, worship You to be liberated from material contamination. In other words, they accept the process of bhāgavata-dharma to achieve shelter at Your lotus feet.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Pure Service Gives Shelter and Satisfaction

  1. 1

    Pure devotional service means rendering loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably, without desires for material profit. One simply serves Kṛṣṇa without material aspirations.

  2. 2

    Bhāgavata-dharma means becoming free from material designations and engaging the senses in the service of their proprietor. This restores the living entity to a pure identity in service to the Lord.

  3. 3

    When living entities adopt bhāgavata-dharma, the Lord reclaims them, and this is His victory. Unmotivated and uninterrupted devotional service completely satisfies the self.

Key points from the purport
  • Bhāgavata-dharma is the process of religion enunciated by pure devotees, direct representatives of the Supreme Personality of Godhead like Nārada, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and their humble servants in the disciplic succession.
  • By understanding bhāgavata-dharma, one immediately becomes free from material contamination.
  • When they are instructed by the Lord Himself about bhāgavata-dharma and they adopt it, that is victory for the Lord, for He then reclaims these fallen souls.

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 6.16.40 quotesSB 1.2.6

Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted in order to completely satisfy the self.”

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:

When Citraketu was appeased, the great sage Nārada gave him a mantra, and by chanting this mantra Citraketu found shelter at the lotus feet of Saṅkarṣaṇa. The living entity is eternal.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. jitamconquered
  2. ajitaO unconquerable one
  3. tadāthen
  4. bhavatāby Your Lordship
  5. yadāwhen
  6. āhaspoke
  7. bhāgavatamwhich helps the devotee approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  8. dharmamthe religious process
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “contamination”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where am I seeking a material reward from service rather than simply seeking to please Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Before one act of devotional service today, pause and resolve to serve Kṛṣṇa without asking for material gain.

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 1.2.6

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

Live this todayPure Service Gives Shelter and SatisfactionThis 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 6.16.40? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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