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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.14.28

Who is speaking and story frame

अन्तर्भवेऽनन्त भवन्तमेव

ह्यतत्त्यजन्तो मृगयन्ति सन्त: ।

असन्तमप्यन्त्यहिमन्तरेण

सन्तं गुणं तं किमु यन्ति सन्त: ॥ २८ ॥

antar-bhave ’nanta bhavantam eva

hy atat tyajanto mṛgayanti santaḥ

asantam apy anty ahim antareṇa

santaṁ guṇaṁ taṁ kim u yanti santaḥ

Translation

O unlimited Lord, the saintly devotees seek You out within their own bodies by rejecting everything separate from You. Indeed, how can discriminating persons appreciate the real nature of a rope lying before them until they refute the illusion that it is a snake?

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.

Know the Self Beyond the Body

  1. 1

    Mistaking the body for the self is like mistaking a rope for a snake. Recognizing the mistake turns our attention toward the eternal soul within the body.

  2. 2

    Saintly persons cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness and realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the Supersoul, the witness and guide within every living entity.

  3. 3

    Realization of the soul and Supersoul is deeply satisfying. A self-realized person naturally gives up what is irrelevant to spiritual advancement.

Key points from the purport
  • One may argue that a person should cultivate self-realization and at the same time pursue sense gratification for the material body.
  • But upon discovering that the so-called snake is actually a rope, he experiences a different emotion — relief — and can then ignore the rope.
  • Discovering that we are actually an eternal soul within the body, we naturally focus our attention on that real self.

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:

Brahmā then glorified the inconceivable opulence of the Personality of Godhead and described the ways in which Brahmā and Śiva differ from Lord Viṣṇu, the reason for the Supreme Lord’s appearance in various species of demigods, animals and so on, the eternal nature of the pastimes of the Personality of Godhead, and the temporality of the material world. By knowing the Supreme Personality in truth, the individual spirit soul can achieve liberation from bondage.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.14
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. antaḥ-bhavewithin the body
  2. anantaO unlimited Lord
  3. bhavantamYourself
  4. evaindeed
  5. hicertainly
  6. atateverything separate from You
  7. tyajantaḥrejecting
  8. mṛgayantisearch out
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “illusion”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotees”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What bodily concern distracts me from attention to my spiritual life?

Practice

Pause during one bodily worry today and remind yourself that you are an eternal soul, with the Lord present within as witness and guide.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKnow the Self Beyond the BodyThis 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 10.14.28? Get an answer from the verses themselves.