1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter

Canto

Canto 6 · Prescribed Duties for Mankind · 19 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

6.5.39 6.5.41

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.5.40

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Prajāpati Dakṣasince 6.5.40inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

नेत्थं पुंसां विराग: स्यात् त्वया केवलिना मृषा ।

मन्यसे यद्युपशमं स्‍नेहपाशनिकृन्तनम् ॥ ४० ॥

netthaṁ puṁsāṁ virāgaḥ syāt

tvayā kevalinā mṛṣā

manyase yady upaśamaṁ

sneha-pāśa-nikṛntanam

Translation

Prajāpati Dakṣa continued: If you think that simply awakening the sense of renunciation will detach one from the material world, I must say that unless full knowledge is awakened, simply changing dresses as you have done cannot possibly bring detachment.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Awakens Knowledge and Detachment

1
Changing one’s dress cannot bring detachment from the material world. Renunciation without awakened knowledge does not remove attachment to material enjoyment.
2
Dakṣa correctly identified the danger of outward renunciation, but misunderstood Nārada Muni. Nārada had awakened full knowledge in Dakṣa’s sons, and their renunciation followed naturally.
3
By seriously rendering devotional service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, one acquires knowledge and detachment. This enlightened renunciation is desirable.

Key points from the purport

Prajāpati Dakṣa was correct in stating that changing one’s dress cannot detach one from this material world.
One should enter the renounced order with full knowledge (jñāna-vairāgya), for the perfection of life is possible for one who renounces this material world in that way.
In summary, unless one’s knowledge is awakened, renunciation cannot take place, for without elevated knowledge one cannot give up attachment for material enjoyment.

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 6.5.40 quotesSB 1.2.7

This elevated stage can be reached very easily, as supported by the statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.7): “By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.”

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

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 summary Back to this verse in chapter 6.5

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

nanot
itthamin this way
puṁsāmof persons
virāgaḥrenunciation
syātis possible
tvayāby you
kevalinā mṛṣāpossessing knowledge falsely
manyaseyou think

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
Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment
Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 6.5
In this verse: “detach”, “detachment”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.5
In this verse: “material”, “attachment”
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 6.5
In this verse: “knowledge”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I giving more attention to outward appearance or to knowledge and sincere devotional service?

Practice

Spend five minutes studying this teaching, then perform one small act of service to Kṛṣṇa.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 1.2.7

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

Live this todayDevotional Service Awakens Knowledge and DetachmentThis 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 6.5.40? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories