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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

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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.4.34

Who is speaking and story frame

य: प्राकृतैर्ज्ञानपथैर्जनानां

यथाशयं देहगतो विभाति ।

यथानिल: पार्थिवमाश्रितो गुणं

स ईश्वरो मे कुरुतां मनोरथम् ॥ ३४ ॥

yaḥ prākṛtair jñāna-pathair janānāṁ

yathāśayaṁ deha-gato vibhāti

yathānilaḥ pārthivam āśrito guṇaṁ

sa īśvaro me kurutāṁ manoratham

Translation

As the air carries various characteristics of the physical elements, like the aroma of a flower or colors resulting from a mixture of dust in the air, the Lord appears through lower systems of worship according to one’s desires, although He appears as the demigods and not in His original form. What is the use of these other forms? May the original Supreme Personality of Godhead please fulfill my desires.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Know the Lord Through Devotional Service

  1. 1

    Dakṣa wanted to worship the supreme form of Lord Kṛṣṇa, not an imagined form. Devotees wish to know and worship the Lord as He actually is.

  2. 2

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be understood by speculation or imagination. He reveals Himself by His mercy through devotional service.

  3. 3

    The Supreme Lord knows everything, while the ordinary living being does not. Kṛṣṇa is the origin of all the demigods, and there is no truth superior to Him.

Key points from the purport
  • In this regard, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura describes the difference between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and an ordinary living being.
  • One must therefore know the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Such a philosopher knows that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Lord of the demigods (deva-deveśvaraṁ sūtram ānandaṁ prāṇa-vedinaḥ).

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 6.4.34 quotesSB 10.14.29

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.29): “My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality.

The purport of SB 6.4.34 quotesBG 18.55

This is also explained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55).

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

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:

As the air passes over a lotus flower and carries the scent of the flower with it, or as the air sometimes carries dust and therefore assumes colors, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears as the various demigods according to the desires of His various foolish worshipers, but actually He is the supreme truth, Lord Viṣṇu. To fulfill the desires of His devotees, He appears in various incarnations, and therefore there is no need to worship the demigods.”
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.4
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yaḥwho
  2. prākṛtaiḥlower grade
  3. jñāna-pathaiḥby the paths of worship
  4. janānāmof all living entities
  5. yathā-āśayamaccording to the desire
  6. deha-gataḥsituated within the core of the heart
  7. vibhātimanifests
  8. yathājust as
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 6.4

    In this verse: “worship”, “devotional service”, “devotees”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 6.4

    In this verse: “mercy”

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 seeking to know the Lord through devotional service, or mainly through my own ideas?

Practice

Offer a short prayer asking Kṛṣṇa for the mercy to know Him as He is and to serve Him.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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Connected stories

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

Live this todayKnow the Lord Through Devotional ServiceThis 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 6.4.34? Get an answer from the verses themselves.