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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
6.5.206.5.22

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.5.21

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 6.5.21inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

इति व्यवसिता राजन् हर्यश्वा एकचेतस: ।

प्रययुस्तं परिक्रम्य पन्थानमनिवर्तनम् ॥ २१ ॥

iti vyavasitā rājan

haryaśvā eka-cetasaḥ

prayayus taṁ parikramya

panthānam anivartanam

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, after hearing the instructions of Nārada, the Haryaśvas, the sons of Prajāpati Dakṣa, were firmly convinced. They all believed in his instructions and reached the same conclusion. Having accepted him as their spiritual master, they circumambulated that great sage and followed the path by which one never returns to this world.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hear, Understand, and Follow Spiritual Instructions

  1. 1

    A spiritual master does not teach disciples how to become more expert in materialistic life. He teaches them how to give it up and return home, back to Godhead.

  2. 2

    The disciple’s duty is to assimilate and follow the spiritual master’s instructions. The Haryaśvas accepted Nārada Muni as their spiritual master and acted with firm conviction.

  3. 3

    Even the highest planet in this material world cannot free one from repeated birth and death. The perfection of life is to attain the Lord’s abode, from which one never returns.

Key points from the purport
  • Rather, the spiritual master teaches the disciple how to give up materialistic life, and the disciple’s duty is to assimilate his instructions and ultimately follow the path back home, back to Godhead, from whence no one returns to this material world.
  • After hearing the instructions of Nārada Muni, the Haryaśvas, the sons of Prajāpati Dakṣa, decided not to be entangled in materialistic life by begetting hundreds of children and having to take care of them.
  • Nārada Muni, as their spiritual master, gave them the śāstric instructions that they should give up this material world, and as bona fide disciples they followed his instructions.

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 6.5.21 quotesBG 8.16

As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (8.16): “From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place.

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:

Thus all the sons of Dakṣa became enlightened and left, never to return. Prajāpati Dakṣa, who was very sad at the loss of his sons, begot one thousand more sons in the womb of his wife, Pāñcajanī, and ordered them to increase progeny.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. itithus
  2. vyavasitāḥbeing fully convinced by the instructions of Nārada Muni
  3. rājanO King
  4. haryaśvāḥthe sons of Prajāpati Dakṣa
  5. eka-cetasaḥall being of the same opinion
  6. prayayuḥleft
  7. tamNārada Muni
  8. parikramyacircumambulating
  9. panthānamon the path
  10. anivartanamwhich does not bring one back again to this material world
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

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

    In this verse: “hearing”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 6.5

    In this verse: “king”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 6.5

    In this verse: “duty”

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 seeking spiritual instruction for material improvement, or to return to Godhead?

Practice

Choose one instruction from this purport and write a sentence explaining what following it would mean for you.

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 6.5's connections

Live this todayHear, Understand, and Follow Spiritual InstructionsThis 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 6.5.21? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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