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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
6.3.16.3.3

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.3.2

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:King Parīkṣitsince 6.3.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यमस्य देवस्य न दण्डभङ्ग:

कुतश्चनर्षे श्रुतपूर्व आसीत् ।

एतन्मुने वृश्चति लोकसंशयं

न हि त्वदन्य इति मे विनिश्चितम् ॥ २ ॥

yamasya devasya na daṇḍa-bhaṅgaḥ

kutaścanarṣe śruta-pūrva āsīt

etan mune vṛścati loka-saṁśayaṁ

na hi tvad-anya iti me viniścitam

Translation

O great sage, never before has it been heard anywhere that an order from Yamarāja has been baffled. Therefore I think that people will have doubts about this that no one but you can eradicate. Since that is my firm conviction, kindly explain the reasons for these events.

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.

Seek Understanding Through Respectful Questions

  1. 1

    An order from Yamarāja had never before been heard to be baffled. This unusual event called for an explanation.

  2. 2

    The King recognizes that people will have doubts about what happened.

  3. 3

    He firmly trusts the great sage’s ability to remove those doubts and respectfully asks him to explain.

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:

Yamarāja said, “Although Ajāmila was calling for his son, he chanted the holy name of the Lord, Nārāyaṇa, and simply by a glimpse of the chanting of the holy name, he immediately achieved the association of Lord Viṣṇu’s order carriers, who saved him from your attempt to arrest him. This is quite all right.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yamasyaof Yamarāja
  2. devasyathe demigod in charge of judgment
  3. nanot
  4. daṇḍa-bhaṅgaḥthe breaking of the order
  5. kutaścanafrom anywhere
  6. ṛṣeO great sage
  7. śruta-pūrvaḥheard before
  8. āsītwas
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 6.3

    In this verse: “heard”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 6.3

    In this verse: “kindly”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 6.3

    In this verse: “king”

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 can I express a spiritual doubt respectfully and sincerely?

Practice

Write one honest question about this event, phrasing it as a respectful request for understanding.

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 todaySeek Understanding Through Respectful QuestionsThis 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 6.3.2? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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