1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 10 · Chapter 1: The Advent of Lord Kṛṣṇa: Introduction
10.1.4110.1.43

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.1.42

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vasudevasince 10.1.37inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यतो यतो धावति दैवचोदितंमनो विकारात्मकमाप पञ्चसु । गुणेषु मायारचितेषु देह्यसौप्रपद्यमान: सह तेन जायते ॥ ४२ ॥

yato yato dhāvati daiva-coditaṁ

mano vikārātmakam āpa pañcasu

guṇeṣu māyā-raciteṣu dehy asau

prapadyamānaḥ saha tena jāyate

Translation

At the time of death, according to the thinking, feeling and willing of the mind, which is involved in fruitive activities, one receives a particular body. In other words, the body develops according to the activities of the mind. Changes of body are due to the flickering of the mind, for otherwise the soul could remain in its original, spiritual body.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Steady the Mind Through the Holy Name

  1. 1

    The mind constantly changes in its thinking, feeling and willing. Its material attachments lead the soul to accept another body at death.

  2. 2

    By engaging the mind in bhakti-yoga, one can control it by Kṛṣṇa’s grace. Chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra fixes the mind on His lotus feet, for the Lord’s holy name is nondifferent from the Supreme Person.

  3. 3

    Purifying consciousness means moving beyond bodily designations and understanding that Kṛṣṇa is the original master and we are His eternal servants. The highest perfection is to engage purified senses in His service.

Key points from the purport
  • One can very easily understand that the mind is constantly flickering, changing in the quality of its thinking, feeling and willing.
  • If the mind is engaged in bhakti-yoga, however, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa one can very easily control it.
  • Otherwise, the flickering mind will hover on the platform of mental speculation for sense enjoyment, and one will have to transmigrate from one type of body to another because the mind is trained only in relation to the material elements, or, in other words, to sense gratification, which is false.

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· 4

The purport of SB 10.1.42 quotesBG 6.34

This is explained by Arjuna in Bhagavad-gītā (6.34): The mind is cañcala, flickering, and it changes very strongly.

The purport of SB 10.1.42 quotesSB 7.9.43

Māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān. Rascals (vimūḍhān), being controlled by mental speculation, make huge arrangements by which to enjoy life temporarily, but they must give up the body at the time of death, when everything is taken away by Kṛṣṇa’s external energy (mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham).

The purport of SB 10.1.42 quotesBG 13.22

Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ’sya sad-asad-yoni janmasu. The spirit soul takes birth in higher and lower species of life only because of his association with the three qualities of material nature.

The purport of SB 10.1.42 quotesBG 14.18

“Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.”

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

Terror → Wonder and relief. The threat of destruction yields to divine appearance.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 10: Threat from Kaṁsa and Kṛṣṇa's birth. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 1: The Advent of Lord Kṛṣṇa: Introduction

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Every living entity lives in a body for some time and then transmigrates to another body, but one is unfortunately misled into accepting the body as the soul. If a person under this mistaken conception wants to kill another body, he is condemned as hellish.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.1
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yataḥ yataḥfrom one place to another or from one position to another
  2. dhāvatispeculates
  3. daiva-coditamimpelled by accident or deliberation
  4. manaḥthe mind
  5. vikāra-ātmakamchanging from one type of thinking, feeling and willing to another
  6. āpaat the end, he obtains (a mentality)
  7. pañcasuat the time of death (when the material body turns totally into matter)
  8. guṇeṣu(the mind, not being liberated, becomes attached) to the material qualities
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.1

    In this verse: “attachments”, “material”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 10.1

    In this verse: “chanting”, “holy name”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 10.1

    In this verse: “death”

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

When your mind wanders toward sense enjoyment, how could the holy name help you return to service?

Practice

Set aside two minutes today to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, gently returning your attention to the holy name whenever it wanders.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySteady the Mind Through the Holy NameThis 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 10.1.42? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories