1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 6 · Prescribed Duties for Mankind · 19 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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
6.3.166.3.18

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.3.17

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Yamarājasince 6.3.12inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitYamarāja → the Yamadūtas

तस्यात्मतन्त्रस्य हरेरधीशितु:

परस्य मायाधिपतेर्महात्मन: ।

प्रायेण दूता इह वै मनोहरा-

श्चरन्ति तद्रूपगुणस्वभावा: ॥ १७ ॥

tasyātma-tantrasya harer adhīśituḥ

parasya māyādhipater mahātmanaḥ

prāyeṇa dūtā iha vai manoharāś

caranti tad-rūpa-guṇa-svabhāvāḥ

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is self-sufficient and fully independent. He is the master of everyone and everything, including the illusory energy. He has His form, qualities and features; and similarly His order carriers, the Vaiṣṇavas, who are very beautiful, possess bodily features, transcendental qualities and a transcendental nature almost like His. They always wander within this world with full independence.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Messengers Share His Transcendental Qualities

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is self-sufficient and fully independent. He is the master of everyone and everything, including the illusory energy.

  2. 2

    The Viṣṇudūtas resemble the Supreme Lord in bodily features, transcendental qualities and nature. As His order carriers, they move freely within this world.

  3. 3

    Yamarāja explained that the Viṣṇudūtas are no less powerful than Lord Viṣṇu. Because they are above the Yamadūtas, those under their protection cannot be touched by the Yamadūtas.

Key points from the purport
  • Yamarāja was describing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller, but the order carriers of Yamarāja were very eager to know about the Viṣṇudūtas, who had defeated them in their encounter with Ajāmila.
  • Yamarāja therefore stated that the Viṣṇudūtas resemble the Supreme Personality of Godhead in their bodily features, transcendental qualities and nature.
  • Persons protected by the Viṣṇudūtas, therefore, cannot be touched by the Yamadūtas.

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 3: Yamarāja Instructs His Messengers

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The Lord, the master of the illusory energy, possesses transcendental qualities for the good fortune of everyone, and His devotees are also qualified in that way. The devotees, concerned only with rescuing the fallen souls from this material world, apparently take birth in different places in the material world just to save the conditioned souls.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tasyaof Him
  2. ātma-tantrasyabeing self-sufficient, not dependent on any other person
  3. hareḥthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  4. adhīśituḥwho is the master of everything
  5. parasyathe Transcendence
  6. māyā-adhipateḥthe master of the illusory energy
  7. mahā-ātmanaḥof the Supreme Soul
  8. prāyeṇaalmost
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 6.3

    In this verse: “protection”

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 does Yamarāja’s description deepen my respect for the Lord’s servants?

Practice

Reread the description of the Viṣṇudūtas and name one quality that inspires your respect.

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.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Messengers Share His Transcendental QualitiesThis 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 6.3.17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories