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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 10.13.57

Who is speaking and story frame

इतीरेशेऽतर्क्ये निजमहिमनि स्वप्रमितिके

परत्राजातोऽतन्निरसनमुखब्रह्मकमितौ ।

अनीशेऽपि द्रष्टुं किमिदमिति वा मुह्यति सति

चच्छादाजो ज्ञात्वा सपदि परमोऽजाजवनिकाम् ॥ ५७ ॥

itīreśe ’tarkye nija-mahimani sva-pramitike

paratrājāto ’tan-nirasana-mukha-brahmaka-mitau

anīśe ’pi draṣṭuṁ kim idam iti vā muhyati sati

cacchādājo jñātvā sapadi paramo ’jā-javanikām

Translation

The Supreme Brahman is beyond mental speculation, He is self-manifest, existing in His own bliss, and He is beyond the material energy. He is known by the crest jewels of the Vedas by refutation of irrelevant knowledge. Thus in relation to that Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead, whose glory had been shown by the manifestation of all the four-armed forms of Viṣṇu, Lord Brahmā, the lord of Sarasvatī, was mystified. “What is this?” he thought, and then he was not even able to see. Lord Kṛṣṇa, understanding Brahmā’s position, then at once removed the curtain of His yoga-māyā.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Receive Knowledge Beyond Our Limited Reason

  1. 1

    Even Brahmā, the lord of Sarasvatī and most intelligent, could not understand Kṛṣṇa’s inconceivable opulence. Seeing his bewilderment, Kṛṣṇa removed the yoga-māyā covering.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa’s energy is one but works in varied ways. Yoga-māyā makes the Absolute Truth manifest or unmanifest, whereas mahā-māyā covers reality and displays something unreal.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot be understood through our limited thoughts and arguments. We must submit and receive descending knowledge through the paramparā system, accepting Kṛṣṇa’s words as they are.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa, understanding Brahmā’s position, then removed that yoga-māyā covering.
  • But even Brahmā, the lord of Sarasvatī, was bewildered about Kṛṣṇa.
  • Now, seeing Brahmā’s bewilderment, Lord Kṛṣṇa caused the disappearance of that yoga-māyā.

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· 3

The purport of SB 10.13.57 quotesCC Ādi 1.5

As Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī has explained, rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmāt.

The purport of SB 10.13.57 quotesBG 2.20

It is not slain when the body is slain.”

The purport of SB 10.13.57 quotesBG 2.23

“The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can it be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.”

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 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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. itithus
  2. irā-īśeLord Brahmā, the lord of Sarasvatī (Irā)
  3. atarkyebeyond
  4. nija-mahimaniwhose own glory
  5. sva-pramitikeself-manifest and blissful
  6. paratrabeyond
  7. ajātaḥthe material energy ( prakṛti)
  8. atatirrelevant
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 10.13

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understanding”, “absolute truth”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.13

    In this verse: “material”

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 can I approach Kṛṣṇa’s teachings with humility rather than pride in my own knowledge?

Practice

Reread one statement from this translation and pause to receive it humbly, without trying to fit Kṛṣṇa within your own limitations.

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 todayReceive Knowledge Beyond Our Limited ReasonThis 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 10.13.57? Get an answer from the verses themselves.