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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
10.14.310.14.5

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.14.4

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

श्रेय:सृतिं भक्तिमुदस्य ते विभो

क्लिश्यन्ति ये केवलबोधलब्धये ।

तेषामसौ क्लेशल एव शिष्यते

नान्यद् यथा स्थूलतुषावघातिनाम् ॥ ४ ॥

śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho

kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye

teṣām asau kleśala eva śiṣyate

nānyad yathā sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinām

Translation

My dear Lord, devotional service unto You is the best path for self-realization. If someone gives up that path and engages in the cultivation of speculative knowledge, he will simply undergo a troublesome process and will not achieve his desired result. As a person who beats an empty husk of wheat cannot get grain, one who simply speculates cannot achieve self-realization. His only gain is trouble.

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.

Loving Service Is the Goal of Knowledge

  1. 1

    Loving service to the Supreme Person is every living entity’s natural and eternal function. Devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is therefore the best path for self-realization.

  2. 2

    Seeking knowledge without surrendering to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is like beating an empty husk for grain. The Lord Himself is the substance and goal of knowledge.

  3. 3

    Prestige, wealth, mystic powers and even impersonal liberation do not establish one in loving service to the Lord. He is easily attained through devotional offerings, but one must humbly accept His service.

Key points from the purport
  • Loving service to the Supreme Person is the natural and eternal function of every living entity.
  • But these so-called gains are actually useless, because they do not situate the living being in his constitutional position of loving service to the Supreme Lord.
  • Although the process of devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa is very simple, it is extremely difficult for stubborn conditioned souls to completely humble themselves before the Supreme Personality of Godhead and absorb themselves twenty-four hours a day in His loving service.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 5

Quoted in the purport ofSB 2.4.16

nānyad yathā sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinām. Bhakti-yoga is the highest quality of perfection to be achieved by the intelligent person in lieu of performing a large quantity of spiritual activities.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 3.27.20

The Bhāgavatam (10.14.4) says that if one gives up the auspicious path of devotional service and simply tries to know things by speculation, one wastes his valuable time (kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye).

Quoted in the purport ofSB 6.1.15

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.4): Speculators who undergo great labor to gain a meticulous understanding of the material world by distinguishing between sinful and pious activities, but who are not situated in devotional service, are prone to material activities.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 10.2.32

kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye. To achieve understanding, such persons work very hard and undergo severe austerities, but their hard labor and austerities themselves are their only achievement, for they do not actually achieve the real goal of life.

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 22.22

This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.4).

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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:

Only by the devotional process of hearing and chanting transcendental sounds received from Vedic authorities can one realize the Personality of Godhead. It is fruitless to try to realize God through processes outside the scope of Vedic authority.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.14
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śreyaḥof supreme benefit
  2. sṛtimthe path
  3. bhaktimdevotional service
  4. udasyarejecting
  5. tethey
  6. vibhoO almighty Lord
  7. kliśyantistruggle
  8. yewho
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “wealth”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Is your pursuit of knowledge helping you become more willing to serve Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Offer Kṛṣṇa a little water today with a humble desire to serve Him.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayLoving Service Is the Goal of KnowledgeThis 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 10.14.4? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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