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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

6.2.36-37 6.2.39

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.2.38

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Ajāmilasince 6.2.34inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

ममाहमिति देहादौ हित्वामिथ्यार्थधीर्मतिम् ।

धास्ये मनो भगवति शुद्धं तत्कीर्तनादिभि: ॥ ३८ ॥

mamāham iti dehādau

hitvāmithyārtha-dhīr matim

dhāsye mano bhagavati

śuddhaṁ tat-kīrtanādibhiḥ

Translation

Simply because I chanted the holy name of the Lord in the association of devotees, my heart is now becoming purified. Therefore I shall not fall victim again to the false lures of material sense gratification. Now that I have become fixed in the Absolute Truth, henceforward I shall not identify myself with the body. I shall give up false conceptions of “I” and “mine” and fix my mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Purify the Heart Through Chanting and Association

1
Material bondage begins with mistaking the body for the self. The first necessity is to become free from this bodily concept of life.
2
Chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and keeping the association of devotees make spiritual awareness possible. Ajāmila sees that his heart is becoming purified through chanting in their association.
3
One should determinedly avoid illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. Giving up false ideas of “I” and “mine,” one should fix the mind on Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

Key points from the purport

How a living entity becomes a victim of the material condition is lucidly explained in this verse.
Therefore Bhagavad-gītā begins with the spiritual instruction that one is not the body, but is within the body.
Therefore we stress that one should chant the holy name of the Lord and keep oneself free from the contaminations of this material world, especially the contaminations of lusty desires for illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling.

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

Chapter 2: Ajāmila Delivered by the Viṣṇudūtas

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

In summary, although the sinful Ajāmila meant to call his son, the holy name of Lord Nārāyaṇa, even though chanted in the preliminary stage, nāmābhāsa, was able to give him liberation. Therefore one who chants the holy name of the Lord with faith and devotion is certainly exalted.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 6.2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

mamamy
ahamI
itithus
deha-ādauin the body and things related to the body
hitvāgiving up
amithyānot false
arthaon values
dhīḥwith my consciousness

Key ideas in this verse

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

Mukti · Liberation
What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10
Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting
Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 6.2
In this verse: “chanted”, “holy name”, “chanting”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.2
In this verse: “sense gratification”, “material”
Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment
Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 6.2
In this verse: “give up”, “free from”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

When do bodily ideas of “I” and “mine” most strongly occupy your mind?

Practice

Arrange a brief time today to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra with a devotee.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPurify the Heart Through Chanting and AssociationThis 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 6.2.38? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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