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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 13: The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Brahmā
10.13.4610.13.49

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 10.13.47-48

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.13.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

चतुर्भुजा: शङ्खचक्रगदाराजीवपाणय: ।

किरीटिन: कुण्डलिनो हारिणो वनमालिन: ॥ ४७ ॥

श्रीवत्साङ्गददोरत्नकम्बुकङ्कणपाणय: ।

नूपुरै: कटकैर्भाता: कटिसूत्राङ्गुलीयकै: ॥ ४८ ॥

catur-bhujāḥ śaṅkha-cakra-

gadā-rājīva-pāṇayaḥ

kirīṭinaḥ kuṇḍalino

hāriṇo vana-mālinaḥ

śrīvatsāṅgada-do-ratna-

kambu-kaṅkaṇa-pāṇayaḥ

nūpuraiḥ kaṭakair bhātāḥ

kaṭi-sūtrāṅgulīyakaiḥ

Translation

All those personalities had four arms, holding conchshell, disc, mace and lotus flower in Their hands. They wore helmets on Their heads, earrings on Their ears and garlands of forest flowers around Their necks. On the upper portion of the right side of Their chests was the emblem of the goddess of fortune. Furthermore, They wore armlets on Their arms, the Kaustubha gem around Their necks, which were marked with three lines like a conchshell, and bracelets on Their wrists. With bangles on Their ankles, ornaments on Their feet, and sacred belts around Their waists, They all appeared very beautiful.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Distinctive Marks Reveal the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    All the Viṣṇu forms had four arms holding a conchshell, disc, mace and lotus flower. Associates who attain sārūpya-mukti in Vaikuṇṭha can also have forms like the Lord’s.

  2. 2

    The Śrīvatsa mark and Kaustubha gem belong only to the Supreme Lord Himself. Their presence proved that these calves and boys were direct expansions of Viṣṇu, not merely His associates.

  3. 3

    Viṣṇu Himself is included within Kṛṣṇa, and all Viṣṇu’s opulences are already present in Him. Thus displaying so many Viṣṇu forms was not very astonishing for Kṛṣṇa.

Key points from the purport
  • All the Viṣṇu forms had four arms, with conchshell and other articles, but these characteristics are also possessed by those who have attained sārūpya-mukti in Vaikuṇṭha and who consequently have forms exactly like the form of the Lord.
  • However, these Viṣṇu forms appearing before Lord Brahmā also possessed the mark of Śrīvatsa and the Kaustubha gem, which are special characteristics possessed only by the Supreme Lord Himself.
  • All the opulences of Viṣṇu are already present in Kṛṣṇa, and consequently for Kṛṣṇa to demonstrate so many Viṣṇu forms was actually not very astonishing.

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:

Then Kṛṣṇa exhibited all the calves and cowherd boys as four-armed forms of Nārāyaṇa. Brahmā could then understand Kṛṣṇa’s potency, and he was astonished by the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, his worshipable Lord.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.13
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. catuḥ-bhujāḥhaving four arms
  2. śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-rājīva-pāṇa-yaḥholding conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower in Their hands
  3. kirīṭinaḥbearing helmets on Their heads
  4. kuṇḍalinaḥwearing earrings
  5. hāriṇaḥwearing pearl necklaces
  6. vana-mālinaḥwearing garlands of forest flowers
  7. śrīvatsa-aṅgada-do-ratna-kambu-kaṅkaṇa-pāṇayaḥbearing the emblem of the goddess of fortune on Their chests, armlets on Their arms, the Kaustubha gem on Their necks, which were marked with three lines like a conchshell, and bracelets on Their hands
  8. nūpuraiḥwith ornaments on the feet
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

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

How do the Śrīvatsa mark and Kaustubha gem clarify who these forms actually were?

Practice

Write down the two distinctive marks and what they reveal about these expansions of Kṛṣṇa.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDistinctive Marks Reveal the Supreme LordThis 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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