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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 18: Diti Vows to Kill King Indra
6.18.366.18.38

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.18.37

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Ditisince 6.18.37inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

दितिरुवाच

वरदो यदि मे ब्रह्मन् पुत्रमिन्द्रहणं वृणे ।

अमृत्युं मृतपुत्राहं येन मे घातितौ सुतौ ॥ ३७ ॥

ditir uvāca

varado yadi me brahman

putram indra-haṇaṁ vṛṇe

amṛtyuṁ mṛta-putrāhaṁ

yena me ghātitau sutau

Translation

Diti replied: O my husband, O great soul, I have now lost my sons. If you want to give me a benediction, I ask you for an immortal son who can kill Indra. I pray for this because Indra, with the help of Viṣṇu, has killed my two sons Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Long Life Is Not True Immortality

  1. 1

    Having lost Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu, Diti asks for an immortal son who can kill Indra.

  2. 2

    The word indra-haṇam can mean either “one who can kill Indra” or “one who follows Indra.”

  3. 3

    The demigods have extremely long lives, but everyone in the material world must die. Here amṛtyum indicates that Diti wanted a son equal in status to the demigods.

Key points from the purport
  • The word indra-haṇam means “one who can kill Indra,” but it also means “one who follows Indra.”
  • Thus the duration of his life is inconceivable for an ordinary human being.
  • Therefore the word amṛtyum indicates that Diti wanted a son who would be equal in status to the demigods.

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

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ditiḥ uvācaDiti said
  2. vara-daḥthe giver of benedictions
  3. yadiif
  4. meto me
  5. brahmanO great soul
  6. putrama son
  7. indra-haṇamwho can kill Indra
  8. vṛṇeI am asking for
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.18

    In this verse: “material”

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 I sometimes mistake a long-lasting material condition for something permanent?

Practice

Write one sentence explaining why a demigod’s long life is not freedom from death.

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 todayLong Life Is Not True ImmortalityThis 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 6.18.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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