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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
6.16.566.16.58

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.16.57

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Anantadevasince 6.16.50inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यदेतद्विस्मृतं पुंसो मद्भ‍ावं भिन्नमात्मन: ।

तत: संसार एतस्य देहाद्देहो मृतेर्मृति: ॥ ५७ ॥

yad etad vismṛtaṁ puṁso

mad-bhāvaṁ bhinnam ātmanaḥ

tataḥ saṁsāra etasya

dehād deho mṛter mṛtiḥ

Translation

When a living entity, thinking himself different from Me, forgets his spiritual identity of qualitative oneness with Me in eternity, knowledge and bliss, his material, conditional life begins. In other words, instead of identifying his interest with Mine, he becomes interested in his bodily expansions like his wife, children and material possessions. In this way, by the influence of his actions, one body comes from another, and after one death, another death takes place.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Remember Our Dependence on the Supreme

  1. 1

    Conditioned life begins when the living entity forgets his spiritual position and pursues interests apart from the Lord’s. Attachment to bodily expansions and possessions leads to repeated birth and death.

  2. 2

    The living entity shares the Lord’s qualities of eternity, knowledge and bliss, but is not equal to Him in quantity. Thinking oneself equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in all respects is ignorance.

  3. 3

    Sunshine shares the sun’s heat and light, yet depends upon the sun. Similarly, forgetting the living entity’s dependence on the Supreme Lord is called māyā.

Key points from the purport
  • The conception that the Supreme Brahman and the living entity are equal not only in quality but also in quantity is the cause of conditional life.
  • If one forgets the difference between the Supreme Lord and the living entity, his conditional life begins.
  • Because of forgetfulness of one’s constitutional position and that of the Supreme Lord, one comes into māyā, or saṁsāra — conditional life.

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:

Unless one becomes a devotee, one cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. After Citraketu finished his prayers, the unlimited Supreme Lord explained knowledge of Himself to Citraketu.
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. yatwhich
  2. etatthis
  3. vismṛtamforgotten
  4. puṁsaḥof the living entity
  5. mat-bhāvamMy spiritual position
  6. bhinnamseparation
  7. ātmanaḥfrom the Supreme Soul
  8. tataḥfrom that
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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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”, “attachment”, “māyā”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “death”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where am I pursuing an interest as though I were independent of the Lord?

Practice

Before acting on one desire today, pause and ask whether it identifies your interest with the Lord’s or only with bodily possessions.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRemember Our Dependence on the SupremeThis 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 6.16.57? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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