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

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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

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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 10: The Deliverance of the Yamala-arjuna Trees
10.10.1110.10.13

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.10.12

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 10.10.8inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

एवं साधारणं देहमव्यक्तप्रभवाप्ययम् ।

को विद्वानात्मसात्कृत्वा हन्ति जन्तूनृतेऽसत: ॥ १२ ॥

evaṁ sādhāraṇaṁ deham

avyakta-prabhavāpyayam

ko vidvān ātmasāt kṛtvā

hanti jantūn ṛte ’sataḥ

Translation

This body, after all, is produced by the unmanifested nature and again annihilated and merged in the natural elements. Therefore, it is the common property of everyone. Under the circumstances, who but a rascal claims this property as his own and while maintaining it commits such sinful activities as killing animals just to satisfy his whims? Unless one is a rascal, one cannot commit such sinful activities.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

A Temporary Body Cannot Justify Cruelty

  1. 1

    The body comes into existence through a combination of matter. When that combination is dismantled, the body no longer exists.

  2. 2

    The translation describes the body as common property, not something one can rightly claim as exclusively one's own.

  3. 3

    Maintaining this temporary body does not justify sinful activities. Even someone who does not believe in the soul should not kill animals unnecessarily.

Key points from the purport
  • The body is a manifestation of a combination of matter.
  • In the beginning it was nothing, but by a combination of matter it has come into existence.
  • Then again, when the combination is dismantled, the body will no longer exist.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Worry and play → Parental tenderness. The Supreme becomes the beloved child of His devotees.

Chapters 5–11 of Canto 10: Gokula, Yaśodā and the infant Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 10: The Deliverance of the Yamala-arjuna Trees

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Of course, it is the nature of the material qualities that when one becomes very much opulent in terms of wealth and a prestigious position, one loses one’s sense of etiquette and does not care about anyone, even a sage like Nārada Muni. For such bewildered persons ( ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā), who especially deride devotees, the proper punishment is to be again stricken with poverty.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.10
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. evamin this way
  2. sādhāraṇamcommon property
  3. dehamthe body
  4. avyaktafrom unmanifested nature
  5. prabhavamanifested in that way
  6. apyayamand again merged with the unmanifested (“for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return”)
  7. kaḥwho is that person
  8. vidvānone who is actually in knowledge
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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

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 10.10

    In this verse: “sinful”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I using bodily comfort as an excuse to cause unnecessary suffering?

Practice

Choose a meal today that does not require killing animals.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayA Temporary Body Cannot Justify CrueltyThis 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 10.10.12? Get an answer from the verses themselves.