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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 12: The Killing of the Demon Aghāsura
10.12.7-1110.12.13

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.12.12

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.12.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यत्पादपांसुर्बहुजन्मकृच्छ्रतो

धृतात्मभिर्योगिभिरप्यलभ्य: ।

स एव यद् दृग्विषय: स्वयं स्थित:

किं वर्ण्यते दिष्टमतो व्रजौकसाम् ॥ १२ ॥

yat-pāda-pāṁsur bahu-janma-kṛcchrato

dhṛtātmabhir yogibhir apy alabhyaḥ

sa eva yad-dṛg-viṣayaḥ svayaṁ sthitaḥ

kiṁ varṇyate diṣṭam ato vrajaukasām

Translation

Yogīs may undergo severe austerities and penances for many births by practicing yama, niyama, āsana and prāṇāyāma, none of which are easily performed. Yet in due course of time, when these yogīs attain the perfection of controlling the mind, they will still be unable to taste even a particle of dust from the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What then can we describe about the great fortune of the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi, Vṛndāvana, with whom the Supreme Personality of Godhead personally lived and who saw the Lord face to face?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Incomparable Fortune of Vṛndāvana’s Inhabitants

  1. 1

    Yogīs may practice difficult austerities and disciplines for many births and attain control of the mind. Yet they remain unable to taste even a particle of dust from the Lord’s lotus feet.

  2. 2

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead personally lived with the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi, Vṛndāvana. They saw Him face to face.

  3. 3

    Their fortune, attained after many, many births of pious activities, is impossible to describe fully.

Key points from the purport
  • We can simply imagine the great fortune of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana.
  • It is impossible to describe how, after many, many births of pious activities, they have become so fortunate.

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

Peril and pride → Friendship and humility. Divinity is revealed amid intimate childhood play.

Chapters 12–19 of Canto 10: Childhood dangers and Brahmā's amazement. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 12: The Killing of the Demon Aghāsura

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

For a crooked, sinful person there is no scope for sāyujya-mukti, or becoming one with the effulgence of Kṛṣṇa, but because the Supreme Personality of Godhead entered the body of Aghāsura, by His touch this demon got the opportunity to merge into the existence of the Brahman effulgence and thus attain sāyujya-mukti. When this pastime was performed, Kṛṣṇa was only five years old.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.12
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yatwhose
  2. pāda-pāṁsuḥdust of the lotus feet
  3. bahu-janmain many births
  4. kṛcchrataḥfrom undergoing severe austerities and penances as a way of practicing yoga, meditation, etc.
  5. dhṛta-ātmabhiḥby persons able to control the mind
  6. yogibhiḥby such yogīs ( jñana-yogīs, rāja-yogīs, dhyāna-yogīs, etc.)
  7. apiindeed
  8. alabhyaḥcannot be achieved
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this comparison deepen your appreciation of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana?

Practice

Pause for one minute to reflect on their extraordinary fortune in seeing the Lord face to face.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Incomparable Fortune of Vṛndāvana’s InhabitantsThis 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.

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