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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
6.5.6-86.5.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.5.9

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 6.5.6-8inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

कथं स्वपितुरादेशमविद्वांसो विपश्चित: ।

अनुरूपमविज्ञाय अहो सर्गं करिष्यथ ॥ ९ ॥

kathaṁ sva-pitur ādeśam

avidvāṁso vipaścitaḥ

anurūpam avijñāya

aho sargaṁ kariṣyatha

Translation

Alas, your father is omniscient, but you do not know his actual order. Without knowing the actual purpose of your father, how will you create progeny?

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Understand the Purpose Before Acting

  1. 1

    Nārada describes the Haryaśvas’ father as omniscient.

  2. 2

    Yet he tells the sons that they do not know their father’s actual order. His question draws attention to their lack of understanding.

  3. 3

    Nārada asks how they will create progeny without knowing their father’s actual purpose. He challenges them to consider that purpose before proceeding.

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. kathamhow
  2. sva-pituḥof your own father
  3. ādeśamthe order
  4. avidvāṁsaḥignorant
  5. vipaścitaḥwho knows everything
  6. anurūpamsuitable for you
  7. avijñāyawithout knowing
  8. ahoalas
  9. sargamthe creation
  10. kariṣyathayou will perform
3

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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

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

    In this verse: “father”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “understanding”

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 carrying out an instruction without understanding its purpose?

Practice

Before carrying out one instruction today, pause to clarify what it is meant to accomplish.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayUnderstand the Purpose Before ActingThis 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 6.5.9? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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