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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 18: Diti Vows to Kill King Indra
6.18.196.18.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.18.20

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:King Parīkṣitsince 6.18.20inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीराजोवाच

कथं त आसुरं भावमपोह्यौत्पत्तिकं गुरो ।

इन्द्रेण प्रापिता: सात्म्यं किं तत्साधु कृतं हि तै: ॥ २० ॥

śrī-rājovāca

kathaṁ ta āsuraṁ bhāvam

apohyautpattikaṁ guro

indreṇa prāpitāḥ sātmyaṁ

kiṁ tat sādhu kṛtaṁ hi taiḥ

Translation

King Parīkṣit inquired: My dear lord, due to their birth, the forty-nine Maruts must have been obsessed with a demoniac mentality. Why did Indra, the King of heaven, convert them into demigods? Did they perform any rituals or pious activities?

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.

Inquiring Into a Change of Character

  1. 1

    King Parīkṣit asks about the demoniac mentality the Maruts would have had due to their birth.

  2. 2

    He wants to know why Indra, the King of heaven, converted them into demigods.

  3. 3

    He asks whether they performed rituals or pious activities. The verse presents his questions, not yet their answers.

How it feels

Resentment and resolve → Constraint and consequence. Family conflict frames a test of intention.

Chapters 18–19 of Canto 6: Diti's vow and discipline. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 18: Diti Vows to Kill King Indra

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Mitra had a wife named Revatī, who gave birth to three sons — Utsarga, Ariṣṭa and Pippala. Aditi had twelve sons, of whom Indra was the eleventh.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.18
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-rājā uvācaKing Parīkṣit said
  2. kathamwhy
  3. tethey
  4. āsuramdemoniac
  5. bhāvammentality
  6. apohyagiving up
  7. autpattikamdue to birth
  8. guromy dear lord
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 6.18

    In this verse: “king”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 6.18

    In this verse: “inquired”

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

When I encounter a surprising spiritual change, do I seek to understand its cause?

Practice

Write down Parīkṣit’s question in your own words, leaving the answer open until it is explained.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayInquiring Into a Change of CharacterThis 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 6.18.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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