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

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Canto 7 · The Science of God · 15 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 7 · Chapter 15: Instructions for Civilized Human Beings
7.15.657.15.67

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 7.15.66

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 7.15.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitNārada Muni → Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira

यद् यस्य वानिषिद्धं स्याद्येन यत्र यतो नृप ।

स तेनेहेत कार्याणि नरो नान्यैरनापदि ॥ ६६ ॥

yad yasya vāniṣiddhaṁ syād

yena yatra yato nṛpa

sa teneheta kāryāṇi

naro nānyair anāpadi

Translation

In normal conditions, in the absence of danger, O King Yudhiṣṭhira, a man should perform his prescribed activities according to his status of life with the things, endeavors, process and living place that are not forbidden for him, and not by any other means.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Perform Your Duties to Please the Lord

  1. 1

    In normal conditions, without danger, one should perform prescribed duties using means and circumstances that are not forbidden for one's position.

  2. 2

    This instruction applies to people in every status of life. Everyone should act according to their position and try to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  3. 3

    The highest perfection of performing one's duties is to please Lord Hari. Working with this purpose makes life successful and brings happiness.

Key points from the purport
  • This instruction is given for men in all statuses of life.
  • Generally society is divided into brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras, brahmacārīs, vānaprasthas, sannyāsīs and gṛhasthas.
  • Everyone must act according to his position and try to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for that will make one’s life successful.

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 7.15.66 quotesSB 1.2.13

“O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve, by discharging his prescribed duties [ dharma] according to caste divisions and order of life, is to please the Lord Hari.”

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

Seriousness → Principled living. The example of bhakti becomes a guide to daily life.

Chapters 11–15 of Canto 7: Teachings on social and spiritual conduct. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 15: Instructions for Civilized Human Beings

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, after hearing from Nārada, became ecstatic in love of Kṛṣṇa, and then Nārada Muni left that place and returned to his own place. Thus Śukadeva Gosvāmī, having described various descendants of the daughters of Dakṣa, ends the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 7.15
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yatwhatever
  2. yasyaof a man
  3. vāeither
  4. aniṣiddhamnot forbidden
  5. syātit is so
  6. yenaby which means
  7. yatrain place and time
  8. yataḥfrom which
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 7.15

    In this verse: “king”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 7.15

    In this verse: “danger”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 7.15

    In this verse: “absence”

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 measuring success in my duties by whether they please the Supreme Lord?

Practice

Before one duty today, check that your means are permitted and consciously make pleasing the Lord your purpose.

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 1.2.13

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 7.15's connections

Live this todayPerform Your Duties to Please the LordThis 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 7.15.66? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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