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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 6.5.14

Who is speaking and story frame

नानारूपात्मनो बुद्धि: स्वैरिणीव गुणान्विता ।

तन्निष्ठामगतस्येह किमसत्कर्मभिर्भवेत् ॥ १४ ॥

nānā-rūpātmano buddhiḥ

svairiṇīva guṇānvitā

tan-niṣṭhām agatasyeha

kim asat-karmabhir bhavet

Translation

[Nārada Muni had described a woman who is a professional prostitute. The Haryaśvas understood the identity of this woman.] Mixed with the mode of passion, the unsteady intelligence of every living entity is like a prostitute who changes dresses just to attract one’s attention. If one fully engages in temporary fruitive activities, not understanding how this is taking place, what does he actually gain?

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Keep Intelligence Fixed in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness

  1. 1

    Intelligence mixed with passion is unsteady, changing its interests like changing dresses. Temporary fruitive activities bring no real benefit when intelligence does not turn toward Kṛṣṇa.

  2. 2

    A Kṛṣṇa conscious person’s occupation is to attract Kṛṣṇa’s attention by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and living simply. Changing fashions should not distract one from this purpose.

  3. 3

    Cleanliness in mind, dress and eating helps one remain fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One should accept the cure of devotional service with firm determination.

Key points from the purport
  • The intelligence engaged to attract a man to the lower part of the body is the intelligence of a professional prostitute.
  • Similarly, the intelligence of a living entity who does not turn his attention toward Kṛṣṇa or the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement simply changes dresses like a prostitute.
  • Karmīs change their professions at any moment, but a Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not change his profession, for his only profession is to attract the attention of Kṛṣṇa by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and living a very simple life, without following daily changes of fashion.

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 5: Nārada Muni Cursed by Prajāpati Dakṣa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Ordered by their father to create more and more population, the Haryaśvas went west to the place where the river Sindhu (now the Indus) meets the Arabian Sea. In those days this was the site of a holy lake named Nārāyaṇa-saras, where there were many saintly persons.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.5
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nānāvarious
  2. rūpāwho has forms or dresses
  3. ātmanaḥof the living entity
  4. buddhiḥthe intelligence
  5. svairiṇīa prostitute who freely decorates herself with different types of cloths and ornaments
  6. ivalike
  7. guṇa-anvitāendowed with the mode of passion, and so on
  8. tat-niṣṭhāmthe cessation of that
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 6.5

    In this verse: “understanding”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 6.5

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 6.5

    In this verse: “chanting”

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

Which changing interests distract me from being steady in Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra rather than spend that time following fashions.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKeep Intelligence Fixed in Kṛṣṇa ConsciousnessThis 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 6.5.14? Get an answer from the verses themselves.