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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
6.18.226.18.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.18.23

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 6.18.23inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीशुक उवाच

हतपुत्रा दिति: शक्रपार्ष्णिग्राहेण विष्णुना ।

मन्युना शोकदीप्तेन ज्वलन्ती पर्यचिन्तयत् ॥ २३ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca

hata-putrā ditiḥ śakra-

pārṣṇi-grāheṇa viṣṇunā

manyunā śoka-dīptena

jvalantī paryacintayat

Translation

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Just to help Indra, Lord Viṣṇu killed the two brothers Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu. Because of their being killed, their mother, Diti, overwhelmed with lamentation and anger, contemplated as follows.

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.

Lamentation Can Kindle Anger

  1. 1

    Lord Viṣṇu killed the two brothers Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu to help Indra.

  2. 2

    Their mother, Diti, was overwhelmed with lamentation over their deaths.

  3. 3

    Her lamentation kindled anger, and in that condition she began to contemplate.

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:

Just to help Indra, Lord Viṣṇu had killed Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu. Because of this, Diti was very envious, and she was eager to have a son who could kill Indra.
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-śukaḥ uvācaŚrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
  2. hata-putrāwhose sons were killed
  3. ditiḥDiti
  4. śakra-pārṣṇi-grāheṇawho was helping Lord Indra
  5. viṣṇunāby Lord Viṣṇu
  6. manyunāwith anger
  7. śoka-dīptenakindled by lamentation
  8. jvalantīburning
  9. paryacintayatthought
3

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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 6.18

    In this verse: “mother”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 6.18

    In this verse: “lamentation”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 6.18

    In this verse: “deaths”

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 am grieving, do I notice anger shaping my thoughts?

Practice

Pause today when you feel upset, and quietly identify whether sorrow is feeding your anger.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 6.18's connections

Live this todayLamentation Can Kindle AngerThis 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 6.18.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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