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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
10.14.2610.14.28

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.14.27

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

त्वामात्मानं परं मत्वा परमात्मानमेव च ।

आत्मा पुनर्बहिर्मृग्य अहोऽज्ञजनताज्ञता ॥ २७ ॥

tvām ātmānaṁ paraṁ matvā

param ātmānam eva ca

ātmā punar bahir mṛgya

aho ’jña-janatājñatā

Translation

Just see the foolishness of those ignorant persons who consider You to be some separated manifestation of illusion and who consider the self, which is actually You, to be something else, the material body. Such fools conclude that the supreme soul is to be searched for somewhere outside Your supreme personality.

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.

Hear About Kṛṣṇa Rather Than Speculate

  1. 1

    Brahmā is amazed that people consider Kṛṣṇa’s supreme spiritual body material. The same ignorance leads them to mistake their own material bodies for the self.

  2. 2

    Such people seek spiritual reality beyond Kṛṣṇa’s supreme personality. Some wrongly consider Him one of many souls that together form an impersonal spiritual entity.

  3. 3

    Unwilling to hear from the Lord or His authorized representatives, they speculate about the Supreme. The result is confusion and ignorance rather than knowledge of Him.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Brahmā is amazed at the gross ignorance of conditioned souls who consider Lord Kṛṣṇa’s supreme spiritual body to be material.
  • Ignorant of the spiritual form of the Lord, such persons also consider their own material bodies to be the self, and therefore they conclude that spiritual reality is to be found somewhere beyond the supreme personality of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
  • Sometimes such fools consider Lord Kṛṣṇa to be one of many individual souls who together constitute a single impersonal spiritual entity.

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:

Thinking the personal form of Lord Kṛṣṇa illusory, fools reject His lotus feet and look elsewhere to find the Supreme Self. But the futility of their search is the obvious proof of their foolishness.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.14
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tvāmYou
  2. ātmānamthe real self
  3. paramsomething else
  4. matvāthinking
  5. paramsomething else
  6. ātmānamYourself
  7. evaindeed
  8. caalso
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: “illusion”, “material”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 10.14

    In this verse: “separated”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

When learning about Kṛṣṇa, how can you distinguish attentive hearing from your own unsupported speculation?

Practice

Reread one statement in this purport and write what it teaches, without adding an explanation of your own.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayHear About Kṛṣṇa Rather Than SpeculateThis 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 10.14.27? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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