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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

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 9: Appearance of the Demon Vṛtrāsura

6.9.46 6.9.48

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 6.9.47

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 6.9.47inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीभगवानुवाच

प्रीतोऽहं व: सुरश्रेष्ठा मदुपस्थानविद्यया ।

आत्मैश्वर्यस्मृति: पुंसां भक्तिश्चैव यया मयि ॥ ४७ ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

prīto ’haṁ vaḥ sura-śreṣṭhā

mad-upasthāna-vidyayā

ātmaiśvarya-smṛtiḥ puṁsāṁ

bhaktiś caiva yayā mayi

Translation

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O beloved demigods, you have offered your prayers to Me with great knowledge, and I am certainly most pleased with you. A person is liberated by such knowledge, and thus he remembers My exalted position, which is above the conditions of material life. Such a devotee is fully purified by offering prayers in full knowledge. This is the source of devotional service to Me.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Offer Personal Prayers With Knowledge

1
The Lord is called Uttamaśloka because He is offered prayers with selected verses. Bhakti means hearing and chanting about Lord Viṣṇu.
2
A devotee offers personal prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, addressing Him as Govinda or Kṛṣṇa rather than treating Him as nameless.
3
Prayers offered in full knowledge purify the devotee and nourish devotional service. Continuing such personal prayers makes one eligible to become a pure devotee and return home, back to Godhead.

Key points from the purport

Another name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is Uttamaśloka, which means that He is offered prayers with selected verses.
Impersonalists cannot be purified, for they do not offer personal prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Even though they sometimes offer prayers, the prayers are not directed toward the Supreme Person.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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

Chapter 9: Appearance of the Demon Vṛtrāsura

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Being pleased with the demigods, the Supreme Personality of Godhead advised them to approach Dadhīci to beg him for the bones of his own body. Dadhīci would comply with the request of the demigods, and with the help of his bones Vṛtrāsura could be killed.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 6.9

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

śrī-bhagavān uvācathe Supreme Personality of Godhead said
prītaḥpleased
ahamI
vaḥof you
sura-śreṣṭhāḥO best of the demigods
mat-upasthāna-vidyayāby the highly advanced knowledge and prayers offered unto Me
ātma-aiśvarya-smṛtiḥremembrance of the exalted transcendental position of Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
puṁsāmof men

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
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 6.9
In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotee”, “bhakti”
Śuddhi · Inner transformation
The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 6.9
In this verse: “purified”, “purify”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 6.9
In this verse: “material”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do my prayers address Kṛṣṇa personally and remember His exalted position?

Practice

Say slowly, “I offer my respectful obeisances unto Govinda, unto Kṛṣṇa.”

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayOffer Personal Prayers With KnowledgeThis 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 6.9.47? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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