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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

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

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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 4: The Haṁsa-guhya Prayers Offered to the Lord by Prajāpati Dakṣa

6.4.17 6.4.19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.4.18

Visarga· Brahmā's creation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 6.4.18inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यथा ससर्ज भूतानि दक्षो दुहितृवत्सल: ।

रेतसा मनसा चैव तन्ममावहित: श‍ृणु ॥ १८ ॥

yathā sasarja bhūtāni

dakṣo duhitṛ-vatsalaḥ

retasā manasā caiva

tan mamāvahitaḥ śṛṇu

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Please hear from me with great attention how Prajāpati Dakṣa, who was very affectionate to his daughters, created different types of living entities through his semen and through his mind.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hear Attentively About Dakṣa’s Descendants

1
Śukadeva Gosvāmī asks his listener to hear with great attention about Dakṣa’s creation of different living entities.
2
Dakṣa is described as very affectionate to his daughters. The account concerns creation through his semen and through his mind.
3
The purport explains that all the prajās were born from Dakṣa’s daughters. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that apparently Dakṣa had no son.

Key points from the purport

The word duhitṛ-vatsalaḥ indicates that all the prajās were born from Dakṣa’s daughters.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that apparently Dakṣa had no son.

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

Anger and conflict → Spiritual commitment. Competing understandings of duty create relational tension.

Chapters 4–6 of Canto 6: Dakṣa, Nārada and the consequences of preaching. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 4: The Haṁsa-guhya Prayers Offered to the Lord by Prajāpati Dakṣa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

After Mahārāja Parīkṣit appealed to Śukadeva Gosvāmī to describe in further detail the creation of the living entities within this universe, Śukadeva Gosvāmī informed him that when the Pracetās, the ten sons of Prācīnabarhi, entered the sea to execute austerities, the planet earth was neglected because of the absence of a king. Naturally many weeds and unnecessary trees grew, and no food grains were produced.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 6.4