Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.90.42
Visarga· Brahmā's creationScriptural Numbers Have a Definite Meaning
“Who can count all the great Yādavas, when among them King Ugrasena alone was accompanied by an entourage of thirty trillion attendants?”
What the purport teaches
- King Ugrasena alone had thirty trillion attendants, illustrating how difficult it is to count all the great Yādavas.
- Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains the definite number through kapiñjalādhikaraṇa, the logic of “referring to pigeons.”
- The rules of Mīmāṁsā interpretation take three as the default when no specific number is given. The purport explains that the Vedas do not leave matters vague.
Try this today
Read the purport once more and summarize its interpretational rule in one sentence.
Ask yourself
Am I willing to consult an explanation before treating a scriptural detail as vague?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.