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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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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
10.12.1710.12.19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.12.18

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

द‍ृष्ट्वा तं ताद‍ृशं सर्वे मत्वा वृन्दावनश्रियम् ।

व्यात्ताजगरतुण्डेन ह्युत्प्रेक्षन्ते स्म लीलया ॥ १८ ॥

dṛṣṭvā taṁ tādṛśaṁ sarve

matvā vṛndāvana-śriyam

vyāttājagara-tuṇḍena

hy utprekṣante sma līlayā

Translation

Upon seeing this demon’s wonderful form, which resembled a great python, the boys thought that it must be a beautiful scenic spot of Vṛndāvana. Thereafter, they imagined it to be similar to the mouth of a great python. In other words, the boys, unafraid, thought that it was a statue made in the shape of a great python for the enjoyment of their pastimes.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Boys Imagined a Place for Play

  1. 1

    The boys thought the demon’s wonderful form was a beautiful scenic spot of Vṛndāvana, like a statue shaped as a python.

  2. 2

    Some boys thought it was actually a python and began fleeing from the spot.

  3. 3

    Others questioned why they were fleeing. They imagined that this was a beautiful place for sporting, not a real python.

Key points from the purport
  • Some of the boys, upon seeing this wonderful phenomenon, thought that it was in fact a python, and they were fleeing from the spot.
  • It is not possible that a python like this is staying here.
  • This is a spot of beauty for sporting.”

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:

Kṛṣṇa’s friends, the cowherd boys, thought that the demon’s form was one of the beautiful spots of Vṛndāvana. Thus they wanted to enter within the mouth of this gigantic python.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.12
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dṛṣṭvāseeing
  2. tamthat Aghāsura
  3. tādṛśamin that posture
  4. sarveKṛṣṇa and all the cowherd boys
  5. matvāthought it
  6. vṛndāvana-śriyama beautiful statue of Vṛndāvana
  7. vyāttaspread
  8. ajagara-tuṇḍenawith the form of a python’s mouth
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 did the boys’ different understandings of the same sight affect their reactions?

Practice

Write down the two different ways the boys understood what they saw.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Boys Imagined a Place for PlayThis 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 10.12.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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