1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 6 · Prescribed Duties for Mankind · 19 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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
6.16.46.16.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.16.5

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 6.16.2inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitAṅgirā and Nārada Muni → King Citraketu

बन्धुज्ञात्यरिमध्यस्थमित्रोदासीनविद्विष: ।

सर्व एव हि सर्वेषां भवन्ति क्रमशो मिथ: ॥ ५ ॥

bandhu-jñāty-ari-madhyastha-

mitrodāsīna-vidviṣaḥ

sarva eva hi sarveṣāṁ

bhavanti kramaśo mithaḥ

Translation

In this material world, which advances like a river that carries away the living entity, all people become friends, relatives and enemies in due course of time. They also act neutrally, they mediate, they despise one another, and they act in many other relationships. Nonetheless, despite these various transactions, no one is permanently related.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Material Relationships Change With Time

  1. 1

    In the material world, people become friends, relatives, enemies and others in changing relationships. None of these relationships is permanent.

  2. 2

    The same person who is a friend today may become an enemy tomorrow. Such relationships arise from different dealings under different conditions.

  3. 3

    Everything is happening through association with the modes of material nature. In illusion, we accept temporary roles as fixed identities.

Key points from the purport
  • Our relationships as friends or enemies, family men or outsiders, are actually the results of our different dealings.
  • Therefore one who is my friend today in association with the mode of goodness may be my enemy tomorrow in association with the modes of passion and ignorance.
  • As the modes of material nature work, in illusion we accept others as friends, enemies, sons or fathers in terms of the reactions of different dealings under different conditions.

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 6.16.5 quotesBG 3.27

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.27), prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ: factually everything is happening because of our association with the modes of material nature.

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:

All our relationships in this material world with friends, relatives or enemies consist of duality, in which one feels happy and distressed on the basis of illusion. The living entity is actually a spiritual soul who is part and parcel of God and has nothing to do with relationships in the world of duality.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. bandhufriends
  2. jñātifamily members
  3. arienemies
  4. madhyasthaneutrals
  5. mitrawell-wishers
  6. udāsīnaindifferent
  7. vidviṣaḥor envious persons
  8. sarveall
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: “material”, “illusion”

  • Sakhya · Sacred friendship

    The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “friends”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I treating a changing relationship as though it could never change?

Practice

When you label someone a friend or enemy today, pause and remember that such relationships can change.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMaterial Relationships Change With TimeThis 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 6.16.5? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories