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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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
10.14.1510.14.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.14.16

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

अत्रैव मायाधमनावतारे

ह्यस्य प्रपञ्चस्य बहि: स्फुटस्य ।

कृत्‍स्‍नस्य चान्तर्जठरे जनन्या

मायात्वमेव प्रकटीकृतं ते ॥ १६ ॥

atraiva māyā-dhamanāvatāre

hy asya prapañcasya bahiḥ sphuṭasya

kṛtsnasya cāntar jaṭhare jananyā

māyātvam eva prakaṭī-kṛtaṁ te

Translation

My dear Lord, in this incarnation You have proved that You are the supreme controller of Māyā. Although You are now within this universe, the whole universal creation is within Your transcendental body — a fact You demonstrated by exhibiting the universe within Your abdomen before Your mother, Yaśodā.

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.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Supreme Controller of Illusion

  1. 1

    By His inconceivable spiritual potency, Kṛṣṇa can appear within the universe while all the universes remain within His body. Ordinary comparisons cannot account for this power.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa showed the universal creation within His abdomen to mother Yaśodā. Brahmā affirms that these were the actual material universes, not something different from the creation outside.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa is māyā-dhamana, the supreme controller of illusion. His supreme mystic potency can bewilder even illusion herself.

Key points from the purport
  • By the Lord’s spiritual potency, however, He can appear within this universe and simultaneously exhibit all the universes within His body.
  • One may argue that since the universes seen by mother Yaśodā within Lord Kṛṣṇa’s abdomen were within the Lord’s body, they are different from the illusory material universes manifest externally.
  • By the Lord’s own supreme mystic potency, He can bewilder even illusion herself, and thus the Lord actually exhibited all the material universes within His body.

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:

Finally realizing this, Brahmā repeatedly condemned his own actions and recognized that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the ultimate shelter of the universe, is Brahmā’s own father, the original Nārāyaṇa. In this way Brahmā begged the Lord’s forgiveness.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.14
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. atrain this
  2. evaindeed
  3. māyā-dhamanaO subduer of Māyā
  4. avatārein the incarnation
  5. hicertainly
  6. asyaof this
  7. prapañcasyacreated material manifestation
  8. bahiḥexternally
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.14

    In this verse: “māyā”, “illusion”, “māyā-dhamana”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

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

    In this verse: “yaśodā”, “mother”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does Kṛṣṇa’s control over illusion challenge my tendency to judge Him by ordinary limits?

Practice

Spend one minute reflecting on Kṛṣṇa being within the universe while the universe is within Him, and offer Him your respects.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the Supreme Controller of IllusionThis 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 10.14.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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