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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
6.16.86.16.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.16.9

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

एष नित्योऽव्यय: सूक्ष्म एष सर्वाश्रय: स्वद‍ृक् ।

आत्ममायागुणैर्विश्वमात्मानं सृजते प्रभु: ॥ ९ ॥

eṣa nityo ’vyayaḥ sūkṣma

eṣa sarvāśrayaḥ svadṛk

ātmamāyā-guṇair viśvam

ātmānaṁ sṛjate prabhuḥ

Translation

The living entity is eternal and imperishable because he actually has no beginning and no end. He never takes birth or dies. He is the basic principle of all types of bodies, yet he does not belong to the bodily category. The living being is so sublime that he is equal in quality to the Supreme Lord. Nonetheless, because he is extremely small, he is prone to be illusioned by the external energy, and thus he creates various bodies for himself according to his different desires.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Small Soul, Supreme Lord, Willing Surrender

  1. 1

    The living entity is eternal like the Supreme Personality of Godhead, yet extremely small, whereas the Lord is the greatest. This is simultaneous oneness and difference, acintya-bhedābheda.

  2. 2

    Unlike the Supreme Lord, the living entity can be covered by māyā. Desiring material enjoyment, he receives a material body through the Lord’s material energy.

  3. 3

    The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart and directs the wanderings of living entities. He desires that they give up material aspirations, fully surrender to Him and return home, back to Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • The living entity is eternal (nitya) like the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the difference is that the Supreme Lord is the greatest, no one being equal to or greater than Him, whereas the living entity is sūkṣma, or extremely small.
  • The Supreme Lord gives the living entity a chance to enjoy in this material world as he desires, but He openly expresses His own desire that the living entity give up all material aspirations, fully surrender unto Him and return home, back to Godhead.
  • The body is different from the living entity.

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 6.16.9 quotesBG 18.61

As the Lord Himself says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.61): “The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.”

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. eṣaḥthis living entity
  2. nityaḥeternal
  3. avyayaḥimperishable
  4. sūkṣmaḥvery, very fine (not seen by the material eyes)
  5. eṣaḥthis living entity
  6. sarva-āśrayaḥthe cause of different types of bodies
  7. sva-dṛkself-effulgent
  8. ātma-māyā-guṇaiḥby the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s modes of material nature
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: “illusioned”, “māyā”, “material”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “give up”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 6.16

    In this verse: “surrender”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which material aspiration makes it harder for me to surrender to the Supreme Lord?

Practice

Identify one material aspiration and offer a brief prayer for willingness to surrender it to the Supreme Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySmall Soul, Supreme Lord, Willing SurrenderThis 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.

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