Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 4
Nārada and Aṅgirā Instruct Citraketu: Impermanence, Ātma-Tattva, and Mantra-Upadeśa
यथा धानासु वै धाना भवन्ति न भवन्ति च । एवं भूतानि भूतेषु चोदितानीशमायया ॥ ४ ॥
yathā dhānāsu vai dhānā bhavanti na bhavanti ca evaṁ bhūtāni bhūteṣu coditānīśa-māyayā
When seeds are sown in the ground, they sometimes grow into plants and sometimes do not. Sometimes the ground is not fertile, and the sowing of seeds is unproductive. Similarly, sometimes a prospective father, being impelled by the potency of the Supreme Lord, can beget a child, but sometimes conception does not take place. Therefore one should not lament over the artificial relationship of parenthood, which is ultimately controlled by the Supreme Lord.
Mahārāja Citraketu was actually not destined to get a son. Therefore although he married hundreds and thousands of wives, all of them proved barren, and he could not beget even one child. When Aṅgirā Ṛṣi came to see the King, the King requested the great sage to enable him to have at least one son. Because of the blessing of Aṅgirā Ṛṣi, a child was sent by the grace of māyā, but the child was not to live for long. Therefore in the beginning Aṅgirā Ṛṣi told the King that he would beget a child who would cause jubilation and lamentation.
FAQs
This verse explains that the appearance and disappearance of living beings within the material world is driven by the Supreme Lord’s māyā—phenomena that seem real and shifting, like grains seen within heaps of grain.
They instructed Citraketu to rise above grief and bodily identification by understanding that worldly manifestations—birth, death, and relationships—move under the Lord’s māyā and are not the soul’s ultimate reality.
Use this insight to cultivate steadiness: recognize that external situations and roles change under higher control, and anchor your identity in the soul and devotion rather than in temporary circumstances.