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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.
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Canto 6 · Chapter 4: The Haṁsa-guhya Prayers Offered to the Lord by Prajāpati Dakṣa
6.4.196.4.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.4.20

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

तमबृंहितमालोक्य प्रजासर्गं प्रजापति: ।

विन्ध्यपादानुपव्रज्य सोऽचरद्‌दुष्करं तप: ॥ २० ॥

tam abṛṁhitam ālokya

prajā-sargaṁ prajāpatiḥ

vindhya-pādān upavrajya

so ’carad duṣkaraṁ tapaḥ

Translation

But when Prajāpati Dakṣa saw that he was not properly generating all kinds of living entities, he approached a mountain near the Vindhya mountain range, and there he executed very difficult austerities.

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.

Meet Setbacks With Disciplined Effort

  1. 1

    Prajāpati Dakṣa saw that he was not properly generating all kinds of living entities.

  2. 2

    He then approached a mountain near the Vindhya mountain range.

  3. 3

    There he performed very difficult austerities. His response to insufficient results was to undertake serious discipline.

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

Further reading

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

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

In the beginning, Dakṣa created all the demigods, demons and human beings, but when he found the population not increasing properly, he took sannyāsa and went to Vindhya Mountain, where be underwent severe austerities and offered Lord Viṣṇu a particular prayer known as Haṁsa-guhya, by which Lord Viṣṇu became very pleased with him. The contents of the prayer were as follows.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tamthat
  2. abṛṁhitamnot increasing
  3. ālokyaseeing
  4. prajā-sargamthe creation of the living entities
  5. prajāpatiḥDakṣa, the generator of living entities
  6. vindhya-pādānthe mountains near the Vindhya mountain range
  7. upavrajyagoing to
  8. saḥhe
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Visarga · Subcreation

    How do living beings and their worlds appear? · Subject 2 of 10

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

When my efforts fall short, am I willing to recognize the difficulty and become more disciplined?

Practice

Identify one task that is not progressing and give it a short period of focused effort without distractions.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMeet Setbacks With Disciplined EffortThis 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.

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