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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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 13: The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Brahmā

10.13.54 10.13.56

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.13.55

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.13.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

एवं सकृद् ददर्शाज: परब्रह्मात्मनोऽखिलान् ।

यस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति सचराचरम् ॥ ५५ ॥

evaṁ sakṛd dadarśājaḥ

para-brahmātmano ’khilān

yasya bhāsā sarvam idaṁ

vibhāti sa-carācaram

Translation

Thus Lord Brahmā saw the Supreme Brahman, by whose energy this entire universe, with its moving and nonmoving living beings, is manifested. He also saw at the same time all the calves and boys as the Lord’s expansions.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Manifests and Maintains Everything

1
Brahmā saw the Supreme Brahman, by whose energy the entire universe is manifested. This includes both moving and nonmoving living beings.
2
At the same time, Brahmā saw all the calves and boys as the Lord’s expansions.
3
Through this incident, Brahmā saw how Kṛṣṇa maintains the entire universe in different ways. Everything is visible because Kṛṣṇa manifests it.

Key points from the purport

By this incident, Lord Brahmā was able to see how Kṛṣṇa maintains the entire universe in different ways.
It is because Kṛṣṇa manifests everything that everything is visible.

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

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

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

After nearly a year, Baladeva observed that all the cowherd boys and calves were expansions of Kṛṣṇa. Thus He inquired from Kṛṣṇa and was informed of what had happened.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.13