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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 ›
Canto 10 · Chapter 13: The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Brahmā
10.13.6010.13.62

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.13.61

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

तत्रोद्वहत् पशुपवंशशिशुत्वनाट्यं

ब्रह्माद्वयं परमनन्तमगाधबोधम् ।

वत्सान् सखीनिव पुरा परितो विचिन्व-

देकं सपाणिकवलं परमेष्ठ्यचष्ट ॥ ६१ ॥

tatrodvahat paśupa-vaṁśa-śiśutva-nāṭyaṁ

brahmādvayaṁ param anantam agādha-bodham

vatsān sakhīn iva purā parito vicinvad

ekaṁ sa-pāṇi-kavalaṁ parameṣṭhy acaṣṭa

Translation

Then Lord Brahmā saw the Absolute Truth — who is one without a second, who possesses full knowledge and who is unlimited — assuming the role of a child in a family of cowherd men and standing all alone, just as before, with a morsel of food in His hand, searching everywhere for the calves and His cowherd friends.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Recognize the Supreme in the Cowherd Boy

  1. 1

    Brahmā saw Kṛṣṇa standing alone with a morsel of food, searching for His calves and friends. Although appearing as an innocent cowherd child, He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of the whole creation.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa’s knowledge is unlimited, like an ocean whose extent we cannot measure. The best course is to surrender to Him rather than try to measure Him with our intelligence.

  3. 3

    Brahmā gave up his pride and understood that he was only an insignificant agent of the Supreme Lord. Kṛṣṇa cannot be reached merely through Vedic knowledge, but He can be realized through devotion.

Key points from the purport
  • Now Brahmā saw Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appearing as a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana, not demonstrating His opulence but standing just like an innocent boy with some food in His hand, loitering with His cowherd boyfriends, calves and cows.
  • When the doorman informed Lord Kṛṣṇa, “It is four-headed Brahmā,” Lord Kṛṣṇa said, “Oh, four-headed.
  • For Kṛṣṇa the four-headed Brahmā is insignificant, to say nothing of “four-headed scientists.”

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tatrathere (in Vṛndāvana)
  2. udvahatassuming
  3. paśupa-vaṁśa-śiśutva-nāṭyamthe play of being a child in a family of cowherd men (another of Kṛṣṇa’s names is Gopāla, “He who maintains the cows”)
  4. brahmathe Absolute Truth
  5. advayamwithout a second
  6. paramthe Supreme
  7. anantamunlimited
  8. agādha-bodhampossessing unlimited knowledge
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 10.13

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

  • Sakhya · Sacred friendship

    The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 10.13

    In this verse: “friends”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

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

    In this verse: “child”

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 pride in my own understanding might be keeping me from approaching Kṛṣṇa with devotion?

Practice

Pause today and offer Brahmā’s prayer with attention: “You are the original person, the cause of everything. I bow down to You.”

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRecognize the Supreme in the Cowherd BoyThis 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 10.13.61? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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