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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 6.4.9

Who is speaking and story frame

अन्नं चराणामचरा ह्यपद: पादचारिणाम् ।

अहस्ता हस्तयुक्तानां द्विपदां च चतुष्पद: ॥ ९ ॥

annaṁ carāṇām acarā

hy apadaḥ pāda-cāriṇām

ahastā hasta-yuktānāṁ

dvi-padāṁ ca catuṣ-padaḥ

Translation

By nature’s arrangement, fruits and flowers are considered the food of insects and birds; grass and other legless living entities are meant to be the food of four-legged animals like cows and buffalo; animals that cannot use their front legs as hands are meant to be the food of animals like tigers, which have claws; and four-legged animals like deer and goats, as well as food grains, are meant to be the food of human beings.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Restrain Appetite and Protect Cows

  1. 1

    By nature’s law, the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one kind of living entity serves as food for another.

  2. 2

    The purport distinguishes animals such as deer and goats from cows, which must never be killed or eaten. Cows are accepted as mothers of human society because they supply milk.

  3. 3

    Human life is meant for learning to curb material tendencies. Vaiśyas should provide food through agriculture and give full protection to cows.

Key points from the purport
  • As mentioned herein, dvi-padāṁ ca catuṣ-padaḥ: the four-legged animals (catuṣ-padaḥ), as well as food grains, are eatables for human beings (dvi-padām).
  • Those who desire to eat meat may satisfy the demands of their tongues by eating lower animals, but they should never kill cows, who are actually accepted as the mothers of human society because they supply milk.
  • The śāstra especially recommends, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya: the vaiśya section of humanity should arrange for the food of the entire society through agricultural activities and should give full protection to the cows, which are the most useful animals because they supply milk to human society.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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:

Soma, however, the king of the moon and the king of all vegetation, forbade the Pracetās to destroy the trees, since the trees are the source of fruit and flowers for all living beings. Just to satisfy the Pracetās, Soma gave them a beautiful girl born of Pramlocā Apsarā.
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. annamfood
  2. carāṇāmof those that move on wings
  3. acarāḥthe nonmoving (fruits and flowers)
  4. hiindeed
  5. apadaḥthe living entities without legs, like the grass
  6. pāda-cāriṇāmof the animals who move on legs, like the cows and buffalo
  7. ahastāḥanimals without hands
  8. hasta-yuktānāmof the animals with hands, like the tigers
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Sthāna · Planetary systems

    How is the universe arranged, and what is our right place in it? · Subject 3 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.4

    In this verse: “material”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 6.4

    In this verse: “mothers”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 6.4

    In this verse: “protection”

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

What food-related desire could you begin to restrain rather than simply satisfy?

Practice

Choose a grain-and-vegetable meal today as a small exercise in restraining appetite.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRestrain Appetite and Protect CowsThis 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 6.4.9? Get an answer from the verses themselves.