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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

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

6.4.51 6.4.53

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.4.52

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

मिथुनव्यवायधर्मस्त्वं प्रजासर्गमिमं पुन: ।

मिथुनव्यवायधर्मिण्यां भूरिशो भावयिष्यसि ॥ ५२ ॥

mithuna-vyavāya-dharmas tvaṁ

prajā-sargam imaṁ punaḥ

mithuna-vyavāya-dharmiṇyāṁ

bhūriśo bhāvayiṣyasi

Translation

Now unite in sexual life as man and woman, and in this way, by sexual intercourse, you will be able to beget hundreds of children in the womb of this girl to increase the population.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Choose Loving Service Over Sense Enjoyment

1
Sexual intercourse ordained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is dharma, a religious principle. Its purpose is to beget children, not to indulge in sense enjoyment.
2
Advanced devotees are free from material desires. Those seeking the supreme benefit of loving service to the Lord should voluntarily limit sex life to begetting children.
3
Facilities for sexual enjoyment should not be mistaken for the Lord’s highest favor, because they carry the risk of committing offenses. Advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, rather than unlimited enjoyment, should be the aim.

Key points from the purport

Therefore the Lord told Dakṣa in this verse, “This girl is offered to you only for sex life to beget children, not for any other purpose.
Then Dakṣa gave up his life because of his degraded condition, but because he maintained the same unlimited sexual desires, he underwent austerities by which he satisfied the Supreme Lord, who then gave him unlimited potency for sexual intercourse.
One should not seek the favor of the Lord for unlimited potency in sex life.

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 6.4.52 quotesBG 7.11

The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.11), dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo ’smi: “I am sex that is not contrary to religious principles.”

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

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

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Indeed, Dakṣa received his name because he was very expert in sex life. After awarding this benediction, Lord Viṣṇu disappeared.

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

mithunaof man and woman
vyavāyasexual activities
dharmaḥwho accepts by religious performance
tvamyou
prajā-sargamcreation of living entities
imamthis
punaḥagain
mithunaof man and woman united

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
Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct
Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 6.4
In this verse: “religious”, “dharma”
Vātsalya · Parental affection
Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 6.4
In this verse: “children”
Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment
Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 6.4
In this verse: “free from”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I seeking the Lord’s favor for material enjoyment or for loving service?

Practice

Today, pause before one act of sense enjoyment and choose instead a small act of loving service to Kṛṣṇa.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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 todayChoose Loving Service Over Sense EnjoymentThis 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 6.4.52? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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