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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
10.12.3310.12.35

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.12.34

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The boyssince 10.12.19inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

ततोऽतिहृष्टा: स्वकृतोऽकृतार्हणं

पुष्पै: सुगा अप्सरसश्च नर्तनै: ।

गीतै: सुरा वाद्यधराश्च वाद्यकै:

स्तवैश्च विप्रा जयनि:स्वनैर्गणा: ॥ ३४ ॥

tato ’tihṛṣṭāḥ sva-kṛto ’kṛtārhaṇaṁ

puṣpaiḥ sugā apsarasaś ca nartanaiḥ

gītaiḥ surā vādya-dharāś ca vādyakaiḥ

stavaiś ca viprā jaya-niḥsvanair gaṇāḥ

Translation

Thereafter, everyone being pleased, the demigods began to shower flowers from Nandana-kānana, the celestial dancing girls began to dance, and the Gandharvas, who are famous for singing, offered songs of prayer. The drummers began to beat their kettledrums, and the brāhmaṇas offered Vedic hymns. In this way, both in the heavens and on earth, everyone began to perform his own duties, glorifying the Lord.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Use Your Gifts to Glorify Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    Everyone celebrated by glorifying the Lord through their own duties, including singing, dancing, music, and prayers.

  2. 2

    Whatever qualifications one has acquired should be used to glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The perfection of life is to satisfy Him.

  3. 3

    Education, austerity, business, and industry should all be engaged in glorifying the Lord. Without bhagavad-bhakti, whatever we possess is simply decoration of a dead body.

Key points from the purport
  • The śāstra has concluded (nirūpitaḥ) that everyone should glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his own qualifications.
  • Therefore, beginning from this earth up to the celestial kingdom, everyone engaged in glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • One should be trained how to glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead by one’s respective qualities.

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· 2

The purport of SB 10.12.34 quotesSB 1.2.13

Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam. The perfection of life is to satisfy the Personality of Godhead.

The purport of SB 10.12.34 quotesSB 1.5.22

“Learned sages have definitely concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, austerity, Vedic study, sacrifice, the chanting of hymns, and charity is found in the transcendental descriptions of the qualities of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry.”

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

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:

Thus Kṛṣṇa encouraged all the demigods, and they expressed their pleasure and happiness. 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.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.12
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tataḥthereafter
  2. ati-hṛṣṭāḥeveryone becoming very much pleased
  3. sva-kṛtaḥown respective duty
  4. akṛtaexecuted
  5. arhaṇamin the shape of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  6. puṣpaiḥby showering flowers grown in Nandana-kānana from the heavens
  7. su-gāḥthe celestial singers
  8. apsarasaḥ caand the celestial dancing girls
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

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 10.12

    In this verse: “glorifying”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 10.12

    In this verse: “duties”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 10.12

    In this verse: “nandana-kānana”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which of your abilities could you use to glorify Kṛṣṇa today?

Practice

Use one skill you have to glorify Kṛṣṇa—for example, sing a short prayer or write a few words praising His qualities.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 1.2.13SB 1.5.22

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.12's connections

Live this todayUse Your Gifts to Glorify KṛṣṇaThis 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 10.12.34? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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