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

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.9.35

Who is speaking and story frame

अथ तत्र भवान् किं देवदत्तवदिह गुणविसर्गपतित: पारतन्‍त्र्येण स्वकृतकुशलाकुशलं फलमुपाददात्याहोस्विदात्माराम उपशमशील: समञ्जसदर्शन उदास्त इति ह वाव न विदाम: ॥ ३५ ॥

atha tatra bhavān kiṁ devadattavad iha guṇa-visarga-patitaḥ pāratantryeṇa sva-kṛta-kuśalākuśalaṁ phalam upādadāty āhosvid ātmārāma upaśama-śīlaḥ samañjasa-darśana udāsta iti ha vāva na vidāmaḥ.

Translation

These are our inquiries. The ordinary conditioned soul is subject to the material laws, and he thus receives the fruits of his actions. Does Your Lordship, like an ordinary human being, exist within this material world in a body produced by the material modes? Do You enjoy or suffer the good or bad results of actions under the influence of time, past work and so forth? Or, on the contrary, are You present here only as a neutral witness who is self-sufficient, free from all material desires, and always full of spiritual potency? We certainly cannot understand Your actual position.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa’s Actions Always Bestow His Mercy

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa descends to relieve devotees and kill demons. For the Absolute Truth, both actions bestow His favor.

  2. 2

    Unlike a conditioned soul, the Lord is not bound by pious or impious reactions. He is always full of spiritual potency and never contaminated by sinful reactions.

  3. 3

    The Lord is equal to everyone, with no enemy or friend. Yet He gives special attention to those who become His devotees and fully surrender unto Him.

Key points from the purport
  • In Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa says that He descends to this material world for two purposes, namely paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām — to relieve the devotees and kill demons or nondevotees.
  • Thus the Lord bestows His favor equally upon the conditioned souls.
  • When a conditioned soul gives relief to others he acts piously, and when he gives trouble to others he acts impiously, but the Lord is neither pious nor impious; He is always full in His spiritual potency, by which He shows equal mercy to the punishable and the protectable.

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 6.9.35 quotesBG 9.29

Actually the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.29), samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ: “I am equal to everyone.

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

Offense and dread → Moral reckoning. Heroic power does not guarantee inner freedom.

Chapters 7–10 of Canto 6: Indra, Bṛhaspati and the emergence of Vṛtrāsura. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 9: Appearance of the Demon Vṛtrāsura

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

While performing the sacrifice to kill Indra, Tvaṣṭā chanted a mantra to increase Indra’s enemies, but because he chanted the mantra wrong, the sacrifice produced an asura named Vṛtrāsura, of whom Indra was the enemy. When Vṛtrāsura was generated from the sacrifice, his fierce features made the whole world afraid, and his personal effulgence diminished even the power of the demigods.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.9
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. athatherefore
  2. tatrain that
  3. bhavānYour Lordship
  4. kimwhether
  5. deva-datta-vatlike an ordinary human being, forced by the fruits of his activities
  6. ihain this material world
  7. guṇa-visarga-patitaḥfallen in a material body impelled by the modes of material nature
  8. pāratantryeṇaby dependence on the conditions of time, space, activity and nature
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 6.9

    In this verse: “inquiries”, “understand”, “absolute truth”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.9

    In this verse: “material”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 6.9

    In this verse: “free from”

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 I deepen my surrender rather than judge the Lord by ordinary human standards?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer to Kṛṣṇa today asking for help to surrender and serve Him sincerely.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s Actions Always Bestow His MercyThis 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 6.9.35? Get an answer from the verses themselves.