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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 3: Yamarāja Instructs His Messengers
6.3.126.3.14-15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.3.13

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Yamarājasince 6.3.12inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitYamarāja → the Yamadūtas

यो नामभिर्वाचि जनं निजायां

बध्नाति तन्‍त्र्यामिव दामभिर्गा: ।

यस्मै बलिं त इमे नामकर्म-

निबन्धबद्धाश्चकिता वहन्ति ॥ १३ ॥

yo nāmabhir vāci janaṁ nijāyāṁ

badhnāti tantryām iva dāmabhir gāḥ

yasmai baliṁ ta ime nāma-karma-

nibandha-baddhāś cakitā vahanti

Translation

Just as the driver of a bullock cart ties ropes through the nostrils of his bulls to control them, the Supreme Personality of Godhead binds all men through the ropes of His words in the Vedas, which set forth the names and activities of the distinct orders of human society [brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra]. In fear, the members of these orders all worship the Supreme Lord by offering Him presentations according to their respective activities.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Perfect Your Duties by Pleasing the Lord

  1. 1

    Everyone in the material world is controlled by the laws of nature. Behind nature’s workings is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  2. 2

    The divisions of varṇa and āśrama guide human duties and support peaceful existence. Their aim is to please the Supreme Lord, not merely to maintain social order.

  3. 3

    Everyone can become perfect by worshiping the Lord according to their activities and ability, under a bona fide spiritual master’s direction. One must rise to the position of a brāhmaṇa and then transcend that position to become a Vaiṣṇava.

Key points from the purport
  • The brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra can elevate themselves by worshiping the Lord according to their activities (sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ).
  • The Supreme Lord exists vertically and horizontally (otaṁ protam), and therefore if one follows the Vedic injunctions by worshiping the Supreme Lord according to one’s ability, his life will be perfect.
  • Everyone is expected to offer obeisances to the Supreme Lord and perform duties as indicated in the Vedas.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 2

The purport of SB 6.3.13 quotesBG 9.10

This is confirmed by Bhagavad-gītā (9.10), wherein Kṛṣṇa says, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram: “The material nature is working under My direction and producing all moving and nonmoving beings.”

The purport of SB 6.3.13 quotesSB 1.2.13

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.13): “O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve, by discharging his prescribed duties [ dharma] according to caste divisions and orders of life, is to please the Lord Hari.”

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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 3: Yamarāja Instructs His Messengers

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

No one but the Lord Himself can deliver that confidential religious system to human society. It is by the mercy of the Lord that the transcendental system of religion can be understood by His pure devotees, and specifically by the twelve mahājanas Lord Brahmā, Nārada Muni, Lord Śiva, the Kumāras, Kapila, Manu, Prahlāda, Janaka, Bhīṣma, Bali, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and me.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.3
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yaḥHe who
  2. nāmabhiḥby different names
  3. vācito the Vedic language
  4. janamall people
  5. nijāyāmwhich has emanated from Himself
  6. badhnātibinds
  7. tantryāmto a rope
  8. ivalike
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 6.3

    In this verse: “worship”, “worshiping”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 6.3

    In this verse: “duties”, “varṇa”, “āśrama”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 6.3

    In this verse: “fear”

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

Am I treating my duties only as obligations, or as opportunities to please the Lord?

Practice

Choose one duty today and carry it out carefully with the intention of pleasing the Supreme Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

7

Connected stories

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

The purport quotesSB 1.2.13

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 6.3's connections

Live this todayPerfect Your Duties by Pleasing the LordThis 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 6.3.13? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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