Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 17
Parīkṣit’s Inquiry into Vṛtrāsura’s Bhakti and the Beginning of Citraketu’s Trial
अङ्गिरा उवाच अपि तेऽनामयं स्वस्ति प्रकृतीनां तथात्मन: । यथा प्रकृतिभिर्गुप्त: पुमान् राजा च सप्तभि: ॥ १७ ॥
aṅgirā uvāca api te ’nāmayaṁ svasti prakṛtīnāṁ tathātmanaḥ yathā prakṛtibhir guptaḥ pumān rājā ca saptabhiḥ
The great sage Aṅgirā said: My dear King, I hope that your body and mind and your royal associates and paraphernalia are well. When the seven properties of material nature [the total material energy, the ego and the five objects of sense gratification] are in proper order, the living entity within the material elements is happy. Without these seven elements one cannot exist. Similarly, a king is always protected by seven elements — his instructor (svāmī or guru), his ministers, his kingdom, his fort, his treasury, his royal order and his friends.
As it is quoted by Śrīdhara Svāmī in his Bhāgavatam commentary:
FAQs
This verse shows Vedic well-being as multi-layered—freedom from disease plus auspiciousness for one’s bodily constituents and also the inner self (mind/ātman), not merely physical health.
Aṅgirā approaches Citraketu during his distress and begins with a traditional, dharmic inquiry into his welfare—probing both outer health and inner condition—before guiding him spiritually.
Assess life in a balanced way: care for the body, stabilize the mind, and nurture the spiritual self—because real protection and stability come from harmony across all three.