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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.
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Canto 6 · Chapter 5: Nārada Muni Cursed by Prajāpati Dakṣa
6.5.366.5.38

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.5.37

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Prajāpati Dakṣasince 6.5.37inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

ऋणैस्त्रिभिरमुक्तानाममीमांसितकर्मणाम् ।

विघात: श्रेयस: पाप लोकयोरुभयो: कृत: ॥ ३७ ॥

ṛṇais tribhir amuktānām

amīmāṁsita-karmaṇām

vighātaḥ śreyasaḥ pāpa

lokayor ubhayoḥ kṛtaḥ

Translation

Prajāpati Dakṣa said: My sons were not at all freed from their three debts. Indeed, they did not properly consider their obligations. O Nārada Muni, O personality of sinful action, you have obstructed their progress toward good fortune in this world and the next because they are still indebted to the saintly persons, the demigods and their father.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Full Surrender Frees One From All Debts

  1. 1

    A brāhmaṇa is born with debts to great saints, the demigods and his father. Dakṣa argued that his sons should fulfill these obligations before renouncing.

  2. 2

    The final verdict of the śāstra is that one who fully surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is freed from all debts. His lotus feet are the shelter of everyone.

  3. 3

    Nārada Muni rightly guided Dakṣa’s sons to take shelter of the Lord. He tolerated Dakṣa’s accusations and performed his duty as a Vaiṣṇava by helping them return home, back to Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore Nārada Muni was completely right in instructing the sons of Prajāpati Dakṣa to renounce this material world immediately and take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Unfortunately, Prajāpati Dakṣa, the father of the Haryaśvas and Savalāśvas, did not understand the great service rendered by Nārada Muni.
  • Since Nārada Muni was a great saint and Vaiṣṇava, he tolerated all such accusations from Prajāpati Dakṣa.

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 6.5.37 quotesSB 11.5.41

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.41): Everyone is indebted to the demigods, to living entities in general, to his family, to the pitās and so on, but if one fully surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, Mukunda, who can give one liberation, even if one performs no yajñas, one is freed from all debts.

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:

Foiled twice in his attempts to increase population, Prajāpati Dakṣa became most angry at Nārada Muni and cursed him, saying that in the future he would not be able to stay anywhere. Since Nārada Muni, being fully qualified, was fixed in tolerance, he accepted Dakṣa’s curse.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ṛṇaiḥfrom the debts
  2. tribhiḥthree
  3. amuktānāmof persons not freed
  4. amīmāṁsitanot considering
  5. karmaṇāmthe path of duty
  6. vighātaḥruin
  7. śreyasaḥof the path of good fortune
  8. pāpaO most sinful (Nārada Muni)
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 6.5

    In this verse: “father”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 6.5

    In this verse: “sinful”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 6.5

    In this verse: “surrenders”, “shelter”

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 does full surrender to Kṛṣṇa differ from simply avoiding obligations?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer to Kṛṣṇa asking for sincere surrender and the desire to serve Him.

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 11.5.41

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

Live this todayFull Surrender Frees One From All DebtsThis 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 6.5.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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