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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.13.30

Who is speaking and story frame

द‍ृष्ट्वाथ तत्स्‍नेहवशोऽस्मृतात्मा

स गोव्रजोऽत्यात्मपदुर्गमार्ग: ।

द्विपात्ककुद्ग्रीव उदास्यपुच्छो-

ऽगाद्धुङ्कृतैरास्रुपया जवेन ॥ ३० ॥

dṛṣṭvātha tat-sneha-vaśo ’smṛtātmā

sa go-vrajo ’tyātmapa-durga-mārgaḥ

dvi-pāt kakud-grīva udāsya-puccho

’gād dhuṅkṛtair āsru-payā javena

Translation

When the cows saw their own calves from the top of Govardhana Hill, they forgot themselves and their caretakers because of increased affection, and although the path was very rough, they ran toward their calves with great anxiety, each running as if with one pair of legs. Their milk bags full and flowing with milk, their heads and tails raised, and their humps moving with their necks, they ran forcefully until they reached their calves to feed them.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Affection Overcomes the Rough Path

  1. 1

    Usually, cows and calves pasture separately. Elderly men care for the cows, while small children look after the calves.

  2. 2

    On seeing their calves below Govardhana Hill, the cows forgot themselves and their caretakers because of increased affection. They rushed toward the calves despite the rough path.

  3. 3

    With heads and tails raised and milk flowing, the cows ran forcefully until they reached their calves to feed them. Their front and hind legs moved together as they ran.

Key points from the purport
  • Generally the calves and cows are pastured separately.
  • The elderly men take care of the cows, and the small children see to the calves.
  • This time, however, the cows immediately forgot their position as soon as they saw the calves below Govardhana Hill, and they ran with great force, their tails erect and their front and hind legs joined, until they reached their calves.

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 13: The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Brahmā

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When one full year had passed, Brahmā returned and saw that Kṛṣṇa was still engaged as usual with His friends and the calves and cows. Then Kṛṣṇa exhibited all the calves and cowherd boys as four-armed forms of Nārāyaṇa.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.13
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dṛṣṭvāwhen the cows saw their calves below
  2. athathereafter
  3. tat-sneha-vaśaḥbecause of increased love for the calves
  4. asmṛta-ātmāas if they had forgotten themselves
  5. saḥthat
  6. go-vrajaḥherd of cows
  7. ati-ātma-pa-durga-mārgaḥescaping their caretakers because of increased affection for the calves, although the way was very rough and hard
  8. dvi-pātpairs of legs together
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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 10.13

    In this verse: “children”

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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What impresses me about the cows’ eagerness to reach and nourish their calves?

Practice

Spend a minute reflecting on the cows’ affection, which moved them to cross the rough path to feed their calves.

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.

Live this todayAffection Overcomes the Rough PathThis 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 10.13.30? Get an answer from the verses themselves.