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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 9: Appearance of the Demon Vṛtrāsura
6.9.366.9.38

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.9.37

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The demigodssince 6.9.31inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

sama-viṣama-matīnāṁ matam anusarasi yathā rajju-khaṇḍaḥ sarpādi-dhiyām.

Translation

A rope causes fear for a bewildered person who considers it a snake, but not for a person with proper intelligence who knows it to be only a rope. Similarly, You, as the Supersoul in everyone’s heart, inspire fear or fearlessness according to one’s intelligence, but in You there is no duality.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

One Lord, Different Ways of Seeing

  1. 1

    A rope may be mistaken for a snake, but the mistake does not change the rope. Similarly, differing views of the Lord do not create duality in Him.

  2. 2

    The Lord rewards each person according to their surrender. Devotees find bliss in Him, while nondevotees with limited knowledge see Him as a source of fear.

  3. 3

    Prahlāda Mahārāja saw Nṛsiṁhadeva as the supreme solace, while his father saw Him as ultimate death. Sober devotees find no contradictions in the Supreme Lord.

Key points from the purport
  • Similarly, devotees who know the Supreme Personality of Godhead do not see contradictions in Him, but nondevotees regard Him as the snakelike source of all fear.
  • When one is in knowledge of duality, one knows both fear and bliss.
  • The same Supreme Lord is a source of bliss to devotees and fear to nondevotees who have a poor fund of knowledge.

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· 2

The purport of SB 6.9.37 quotesBG 4.11

In Bhagavad-gītā (4.11) the Lord says, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham: “As one surrenders unto Me, I reward him accordingly.”

The purport of SB 6.9.37 quotesSB 11.2.37

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.37), bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syāt: fear results from being absorbed in duality.

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:

This happened when Tvaṣṭā performed this yajña. 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.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 6.9
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. samaequal or proper
  2. viṣamaand unequal or mistaken
  3. matīnāmof those having intelligence
  4. matamconclusion
  5. anusarasiYou follow
  6. yathājust as
  7. rajju-khaṇḍaḥa piece of rope
  8. sarpa-ādia snake, etc.
  9. dhiyāmof those who perceive
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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 6.9

    In this verse: “fear”, “death”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 6.9

    In this verse: “devotees”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 6.9

    In this verse: “father”

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 might my understanding and willingness to surrender shape the way I see the Lord?

Practice

Spend a minute reflecting on the rope-and-snake example and how mistaken understanding can produce fear.

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 11.2.37

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 6.9's connections

Live this todayOne Lord, Different Ways of SeeingThis 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 6.9.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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