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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 5: Nārada Muni Cursed by Prajāpati Dakṣa
6.5.166.5.18

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.5.17

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 6.5.10inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

पञ्चविंशतितत्त्वानां पुरुषोऽद्भ‍ुतदर्पण: ।

अध्यात्ममबुधस्येह किमसत्कर्मभिर्भवेत् ॥ १७ ॥

pañca-viṁśati-tattvānāṁ

puruṣo ’dbhuta-darpaṇaḥ

adhyātmam abudhasyeha

kim asat-karmabhir bhavet

Translation

[Nārada Muni had said that there is a house made of twenty-five elements. The Haryaśvas understood this analogy.] The Supreme Lord is the reservoir of the twenty-five elements, and as the Supreme Being, the conductor of cause and effect, He causes their manifestation. If one engages in temporary fruitive activities, not knowing that Supreme Person, what benefit will he derive?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Know the Supreme Cause Through Devotion

  1. 1

    The Supreme Lord is the reservoir of the twenty-five elements and the conductor of cause and effect. Inquiry should therefore seek the Supreme Person, not stop at temporary activities.

  2. 2

    The cosmic manifestation expands from the energies of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Matter is His inferior energy, and the living entity is His spiritual energy.

  3. 3

    The Supreme Person behind everything can be understood only through devotional service. Human life should cultivate this knowledge rather than pursue temporary happiness and sense gratification.

Key points from the purport
  • The Vedānta-sūtra explains that one should inquire about the Supreme Soul.
  • Therefore if one does not conduct research to find the supreme cause, but instead falsely engages in frivolous, temporary activities, what is the use of demanding recognition as an important scientist or philosopher?
  • One must try to understand that the material elements are the separated, inferior energy of the Lord and that the living entity is the Lord’s spiritual energy.

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 6.5.17 quotesSB 1.2.11

The Absolute Truth, tattva, is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.11): “Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.”

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 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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. pañca-viṁśatitwenty-five
  2. tattvānāmof the elements
  3. puruṣaḥthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  4. adbhuta-darpaṇaḥthe wonderful manifester
  5. adhyātmamthe overseer of all causes and effects
  6. abudhasyaof one who does not know
  7. ihain this world
  8. kim asat-karmabhiḥ bhavetwhat can be the benefit of engaging in temporary fruitive activities
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “inquiry”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.5

    In this verse: “sense gratification”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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 can my desire for knowledge lead me toward devotional service rather than temporary recognition?

Practice

Reread the purport’s explanation of the Lord’s two energies and write one sentence distinguishing matter from the living entity.

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.

The purport quotesSB 1.2.11

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 6.5's connections

Live this todayKnow the Supreme Cause Through DevotionThis 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 6.5.17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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