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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
6.18.506.18.52

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.18.51

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Kaśyapa Munisince 6.18.48inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

नाधौतपादाप्रयता नार्द्रपादा उदक्शिरा: ।

शयीत नापराङ्‌नान्यैर्न नग्ना न च सन्ध्ययो: ॥ ५१ ॥

nādhauta-pādāprayatā

nārdra-pādā udak-śirāḥ

śayīta nāparāṅ nānyair

na nagnā na ca sandhyayoḥ

Translation

You should not lie down without having washed both of your feet or without being purified, nor with wet feet or with your head pointed west or north. You should not lie naked, or with other women, or during the sunrise or sunset.

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.

Bring Care and Cleanliness to Rest

  1. 1

    Diti was instructed to wash her feet and be purified before lying down. She was not to lie down with wet feet.

  2. 2

    Her vow prohibited lying with her head pointed west or north. She was also not to lie naked or with other women.

  3. 3

    She was not to lie down during sunrise or sunset. These instructions made even her rest subject to the vow.

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:

In association with the demon Vipracit, Siṁhikā bore a son named Rāhu, whose head was severed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛti, the wife of Saṁhlāda, bore a son named Pañcajana.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.18
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nanot
  2. adhauta-pādāwithout washing the feet
  3. aprayatāwithout being purified
  4. nanot
  5. ardra-pādāwith wet feet
  6. udak-śirāḥwith the head toward the north
  7. śayītashould lie down
  8. nanot
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 6.18

    In this verse: “purified”

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

How much care do I bring to preparing for rest?

Practice

Wash and dry your feet before lying down tonight.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayBring Care and Cleanliness to RestThis 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 6.18.51? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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