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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.
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Canto 6 · Chapter 17: Mother Pārvatī Curses Citraketu
6.17.106.17.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.17.11

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The goddess Pārvatīsince 6.17.11inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीपार्वत्युवाच

अयं किमधुना लोके शास्ता दण्डधर: प्रभु: ।

अस्मद्विधानां दुष्टानां निर्लज्जानां च विप्रकृत् ॥ ११ ॥

śrī-pārvaty uvāca

ayaṁ kim adhunā loke

śāstā daṇḍa-dharaḥ prabhuḥ

asmad-vidhānāṁ duṣṭānāṁ

nirlajjānāṁ ca viprakṛt

Translation

The goddess Pārvatī said: Alas, has this upstart now received a post from which to punish shameless persons like us? Has he been appointed ruler, carrier of the rod of punishment? Is he now the only master of everything?

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Pārvatī Challenges Assumed Authority

  1. 1

    Pārvatī challenged Citraketu by asking whether he had received a position from which to punish others.

  2. 2

    Her questions disputed his assumed role as ruler and carrier of the rod of punishment.

  3. 3

    By asking whether he was now the only master of everything, she challenged the authority implied by his criticism.

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 17: Mother Pārvatī Curses Citraketu

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

One is controlled by the influence of material nature in the material world, yet one thinks himself the doer of everything. In this material world, which is made of the external energy of the Supreme Lord, one is sometimes cursed and sometimes favored, and thus he sometimes enjoys in the upper planetary systems and sometimes suffers in the lower planets, but all these situations are the same because they are within this material world.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.17
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-pārvatī uvācathe goddess Pārvatī said
  2. ayamthis
  3. kimwhether
  4. adhunānow
  5. lokein the world
  6. śāstāthe supreme controller
  7. daṇḍa-dharaḥthe carrier of the rod of punishment
  8. prabhuḥthe master
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 6.17

    In this verse: “ruler”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do you sometimes speak as though you have authority to correct everyone?

Practice

Before correcting someone today, pause and ask whether doing so is actually your responsibility.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPārvatī Challenges Assumed AuthorityThis 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 6.17.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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