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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 ›
Canto 10 · Chapter 14: Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa
10.14.1110.14.13

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.14.12

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

उत्क्षेपणं गर्भगतस्य पादयो:

किं कल्पते मातुरधोक्षजागसे ।

किमस्तिनास्तिव्यपदेशभूषितं

तवास्ति कुक्षे: कियदप्यनन्त: ॥ १२ ॥

utkṣepaṇaṁ garbha-gatasya pādayoḥ

kiṁ kalpate mātur adhokṣajāgase

kim asti-nāsti-vyapadeśa-bhūṣitaṁ

tavāsti kukṣeḥ kiyad apy anantaḥ

Translation

O Lord Adhokṣaja, does a mother take offense when the child within her womb kicks with his legs? And is there anything in existence — whether designated by various philosophers as real or as unreal — that is actually outside Your abdomen?

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.

Everything Exists Within the Lord’s Energy

  1. 1

    Brahmā compares himself to a child within its mother’s womb. A good mother does not take offense when her child kicks within her.

  2. 2

    Everything exists within the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is no place in creation where His energy is not acting.

  3. 3

    Brahmā and the Brahmās of countless other universes all exist within the Lord’s energy. In this comparison, the Lord is the mother and all beings are her children.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Prabhupāda comments as follows on this verse in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter Fourteen: “Lord Brahmā therefore compared himself to a little child within the womb of his mother.
  • If the child within the womb plays with his hands and legs, and while playing touches the body of the mother, is the mother offended with the child?
  • Since everything is existing within the energy of the Lord, the Brahmā of this universe and the Brahmās of the many other millions and trillions of universes are existing within the energy of the Lord; therefore the Lord is considered to be the mother, and everything existing within the womb of the mother is considered to be the child.

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:

It is fruitless to try to realize God through processes outside the scope of Vedic authority. The mystery of the Personality of Godhead, who is the reservoir of unlimited spiritual qualities, is inconceivable; it is even more difficult to understand than the impersonal Supreme.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.14
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. utkṣepaṇamthe kicking
  2. garbha-gatasyaof a child in the womb
  3. pādayoḥof the legs
  4. kimwhat
  5. kalpateamounts to
  6. mātuḥfor the mother
  7. adhokṣajaO transcendental Lord
  8. āgaseas an offense
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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 10.14

    In this verse: “mother”, “child”, “mother’s”

  • Dainya · Humility

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

    In this verse: “offense”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 10.14

    In this verse: “philosophers”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this picture of the Lord’s motherly tolerance help me approach Him humbly?

Practice

Offer a short prayer for forgiveness, remembering Brahmā’s comparison of himself to a child within its mother.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayEverything Exists Within the Lord’s EnergyThis 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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