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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 14: Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa
10.13.6410.14.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.14.1

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 10.14.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीब्रह्मोवाच

नौमीड्य तेऽभ्रवपुषे तडिदम्बराय

गुञ्जावतंसपरिपिच्छलसन्मुखाय ।

वन्यस्रजे कवलवेत्रविषाणवेणु-

लक्ष्मश्रिये मृदुपदे पशुपाङ्गजाय ॥ १ ॥

śrī-brahmovāca

naumīḍya te ’bhra-vapuṣe taḍid-ambarāya

guñjāvataṁsa-paripiccha-lasan-mukhāya

vanya-sraje kavala-vetra-viṣāṇa-veṇu-

lakṣma-śriye mṛdu-pade paśupāṅgajāya

Translation

Lord Brahmā said: My dear Lord, You are the only worshipable Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore I offer my humble obeisances and prayers just to please You. O son of the king of the cowherds, Your transcendental body is dark blue like a new cloud, Your garment is brilliant like lightning, and the beauty of Your face is enhanced by Your guñjā earrings and the peacock feather on Your head. Wearing garlands of various forest flowers and leaves, and equipped with a herding stick, a buffalo horn and a flute, You stand beautifully with a morsel of food in Your hand.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Offer Humble Prayers to Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    Brahmā tried to bewilder Lord Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa’s mystic potency bewildered Brahmā himself. He now offers prayers with great humility and devotion.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa stands beautifully as a young cowherd boy, holding a morsel of rice mixed with yogurt. His forest ornaments and simple cowherding equipment accompany opulences greater than those of Vaikuṇṭha.

  3. 3

    Although Brahmā had seen innumerable four-armed forms of the Lord, he surrendered to the two-armed form of Kṛṣṇa. He worships this son of Nanda Mahārāja as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • In the previous chapter Brahmā, the creator of the universe, tried to bewilder the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, by stealing His cowherd boyfriends and calves.
  • But by a slight exhibition of Kṛṣṇa’s own mystic potency, Brahmā himself was completely bewildered, and now with great humility and devotion he offers his humble obeisances and prayers unto the Lord.
  • According to Sanātana Gosvāmī, the Lord held a cowherding stick and a buffalo horn pressed under His left arm, and His flute was placed under His belt.

The purport'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 14: Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

For His satisfaction, Brahmā first praised the beauty of the Lord’s transcendental limbs and then declared that His original identity of sweetness is even more difficult to comprehend than His opulence. Only by the devotional process of hearing and chanting transcendental sounds received from Vedic authorities can one realize the Personality of Godhead.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.14
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-brahmā uvācaLord Brahmā said
  2. naumiI offer praise
  3. īḍyaO most worshipable one
  4. teunto You
  5. abhralike a dark cloud
  6. vapuṣewhose body
  7. taḍitlike lightning
  8. ambarāyawhose garment
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.14

    In this verse: “worshipable”, “devotion”, “worships”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 10.14

    In this verse: “humble”, “humility”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 10.14

    In this verse: “king”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can Brahmā’s humility guide the way you approach Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Read the description of Kṛṣṇa’s form slowly, then offer one humble prayer just to please Him.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Live this todayOffer Humble Prayers to KṛṣṇaThis 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 10.14.1? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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