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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.
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Canto 10 · Chapter 12: The Killing of the Demon Aghāsura
10.12.4010.12.42

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.12.41

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:King Parīkṣitsince 10.12.41inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीराजोवाच

ब्रह्मन्कालान्तरकृतं तत्कालीनं कथं भवेत् ।

यत् कौमारे हरिकृतं जगु: पौगण्डकेऽर्भका: ॥ ४१ ॥

śrī-rājovāca

brahman kālāntara-kṛtaṁ

tat-kālīnaṁ kathaṁ bhavet

yat kaumāre hari-kṛtaṁ

jaguḥ paugaṇḍake ’rbhakāḥ

Translation

Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquired: O great sage, how could things done in the past have been described as being done at the present? Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa performed this pastime of killing Aghāsura during His kaumāra age. How then, during His paugaṇḍa age, could the boys have described this incident as having happened recently?

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Ask Carefully About Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes

  1. 1

    Mahārāja Parīkṣit asked how an event from the past could be described as happening in the present.

  2. 2

    Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa killed Aghāsura during His kaumāra age.

  3. 3

    The boys described the incident during His paugaṇḍa age as though it had happened recently. Parīkṣit wanted to understand this difference in timing.

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:

Parīkṣit Mahārāja inquired, “Why is it that this pastime was disclosed only after one year and yet the inhabitants of Vraja thought that it had been performed that very day?” With this question, the Twelfth Chapter ends.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.12
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-rājā uvācaMahārāja Parīkṣit inquired
  2. brahmanO learned brāhmaṇa (Śukadeva Gosvāmī)
  3. kāla-antara-kṛtamthings done in the past, at a different time (in the kaumāra age)
  4. tat-kālīnamdescribed as happening now (in the paugaṇḍa age)
  5. katham bhavethow could it be so
  6. yatwhich pastime
  7. kaumārein the kaumāra age
  8. hari-kṛtamwas done by Kṛṣṇa
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 10.12

    In this verse: “inquired”, “understand”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What detail in this account would I like to understand more clearly?

Practice

Write Parīkṣit’s question about the timing in your own words, without guessing the answer.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayAsk Carefully About Kṛṣṇa’s PastimesThis 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 10.12.41? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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