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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 2: Ajāmila Delivered by the Viṣṇudūtas
6.2.306.2.32

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.2.31

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Ajāmilasince 6.2.26inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अथ ते क्‍व गता: सिद्धाश्चत्वारश्चारुदर्शना: ।

व्यामोचयन्नीयमानं बद्ध्वा पाशैरधो भुव: ॥ ३१ ॥

atha te kva gatāḥ siddhāś

catvāraś cāru-darśanāḥ

vyāmocayan nīyamānaṁ

baddhvā pāśair adho bhuvaḥ

Translation

And where have those four liberated and very beautiful persons gone who released me from arrest and saved me from being dragged down to the hellish regions?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Remembering Those Who Brought Rescue

  1. 1

    Ajāmila remembered four liberated and very beautiful persons who had released him from arrest.

  2. 2

    They had saved him from being dragged down to the hellish regions, and he wondered where they had gone.

  3. 3

    The purport explains that the hellish planets lie in the lower portions of this universe. Ajāmila understood that the Yamadūtas had come from that region.

Key points from the purport
  • As we have learned from the descriptions in the Fifth Canto, the hellish planets are situated in the lower portions of this universe.
  • Ajāmila could understand that the Yamadūtas had come from that region.

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

Guilt and mortal terror → Mercy and renewed devotion. The holy name opens a path beyond an apparently hopeless death.

Chapters 1–3 of Canto 6: Ajāmila and the Viṣṇudūtas. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 2: Ajāmila Delivered by the Viṣṇudūtas

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

As they were saying this, the Viṣṇudūtas released Ajāmila from the ropes of the Yamadūtas and left for their own abode. The brāhmaṇa Ajāmila, however, offered his respectful obeisances to the Viṣṇudūtas.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.2
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. athathereafter
  2. tethose persons
  3. kvawhere
  4. gatāḥwent
  5. siddhāḥliberated
  6. catvāraḥfour personalities
  7. cāru-darśanāḥextremely beautiful to see
  8. vyāmocayanthey released
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 6.2

    In this verse: “saved”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What stands out to me about Ajāmila's remembrance of his rescuers?

Practice

Reread the translation and name the specific help Ajāmila received from the four liberated persons.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRemembering Those Who Brought RescueThis 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 6.2.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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