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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 ›
Canto 6 · Chapter 4: The Haṁsa-guhya Prayers Offered to the Lord by Prajāpati Dakṣa
6.4.486.4.51

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 6.4.49-50

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 6.4.43inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

स वै यदा महादेवो मम वीर्योपबृंहित: ।

मेने खिलमिवात्मानमुद्यत: स्वर्गकर्मणि ॥ ४९ ॥

अथ मेऽभिहितो देवस्तपोऽतप्यत दारुणम् ।

नव विश्वसृजो युष्मान् येनादावसृजद्विभु: ॥ ५० ॥

sa vai yadā mahādevo

mama vīryopabṛṁhitaḥ

mene khilam ivātmānam

udyataḥ svarga-karmaṇi

atha me ’bhihito devas

tapo ’tapyata dāruṇam

nava viśva-sṛjo yuṣmān

yenādāv asṛjad vibhuḥ

Translation

When the chief lord of the universe, Lord Brahmā [Svayambhū], having been inspired by My energy, was attempting to create, he thought himself incapable. Therefore I gave him advice, and in accordance with My instructions he underwent extremely difficult austerities. Because of these austerities, the great Lord Brahmā was able to create nine personalities, including you, to help him in the functions of creation.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Austerity Purifies Us for Devotional Service

  1. 1

    When Lord Brahmā felt incapable of creating, the Lord advised him to perform austerities. Following those instructions, he created nine personalities to help with creation.

  2. 2

    Through tapasya, we become powerful by the Lord’s grace. Brahmā’s ability to create depended on that grace, not on independent strength.

  3. 3

    The purpose of spiritual austerity is to purify the heart and attain devotional service. When our existence is purified, we can do wonderful things by the Lord’s grace.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Brahmā, however, was empowered to create this entire universe because of his austerities.
  • The more we engage in austerities, the more we become powerful by the grace of the Lord.
  • Therefore tapasya is very important, as stressed in this verse.

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· 1

The purport of SB 6.4.49-50 quotesSB 5.5.1

By such activity, one’s heart is purified.”

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:

However, the Lord has a potency called avidyā, the illusory energy, which induces the false arguer to think himself perfect and which induces the illusory energy to bewilder the conditioned soul. That Supreme Brahman, the Supersoul, is very affectionate to His devotees.
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. saḥthat Lord Brahmā
  2. vaiindeed
  3. yadāwhen
  4. mahā-devaḥthe chief of all the demigods
  5. mamaMy
  6. vīrya-upabṛṁhitaḥbeing increased by the potency
  7. menethought
  8. khilamincapable
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 6.4

    In this verse: “grace”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 6.4

    In this verse: “purify”

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 approaching austerity as a means to purify my heart for devotional service?

Practice

Give up one small, optional comfort today, with the intention of purifying your heart for devotional service.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

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

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 6.4's connections

Live this todayAusterity Purifies Us for 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 6.4.49-50? Get an answer from the verses themselves.