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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 4: The Haṁsa-guhya Prayers Offered to the Lord by Prajāpati Dakṣa
6.4.416.4.43

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.4.42

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 6.4.35-39inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

तं तथावनतं भक्तं प्रजाकामं प्रजापतिम् ।

चित्तज्ञ: सर्वभूतानामिदमाह जनार्दन: ॥ ४२ ॥

taṁ tathāvanataṁ bhaktaṁ

prajā-kāmaṁ prajāpatim

citta-jñaḥ sarva-bhūtānām

idam āha janārdanaḥ

Translation

Although Prajāpati Dakṣa could not say anything, when the Lord, who knows everyone’s heart, saw His devotee prostrate in that manner and desiring to increase the population, He addressed him as follows.

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.

The Lord Knows His Devotee’s Heart

  1. 1

    Prajāpati Dakṣa could not speak and remained prostrate before the Lord.

  2. 2

    The Lord knows everyone’s heart. He knew that His devotee desired to increase the population.

  3. 3

    Although Dakṣa remained silent, the Lord addressed him. Dakṣa did not need to explain his desire for the Lord to know it.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tamhim (Prajāpati Dakṣa)
  2. tathāin that way
  3. avanatamprostrated before Him
  4. bhaktama great devotee
  5. prajā-kāmamdesiring to increase the population
  6. prajāpatimunto the prajāpati (Dakṣa)
  7. citta-jñaḥwho can understand the hearts
  8. sarva-bhūtānāmof all living entities
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotee”

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 knowing that the Lord understands your heart affect the way you approach Him?

Practice

Pause in quiet prayer and acknowledge that the Lord already knows the desires in your heart.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Knows His Devotee’s HeartThis 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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