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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.
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Canto 10 · Chapter 16: Kṛṣṇa Chastises the Serpent Kāliya
10.16.4610.16.48

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.16.47

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The wives of the Kāliya serpentsince 10.16.33inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अव्याकृतविहाराय सर्वव्याकृतसिद्धये ।

हृषीकेश नमस्तेऽस्तु मुनये मौनशीलिने ॥ ४७ ॥

avyākṛta-vihārāya

sarva-vyākṛta-siddhaye

hṛṣīkeśa namas te ’stu

munaye mauna-śīline

Translation

O Lord Hṛṣīkeśa, master of the senses, please let us offer our obeisances unto You, whose pastimes are inconceivably glorious. Your existence can be inferred from the necessity for a creator and revealer of all cosmic manifestations. But although Your devotees can understand You in this way, to the nondevotees You remain silent, absorbed in self-satisfaction.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

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.

The Lord Reveals Himself to Devotees

  1. 1

    The prayer addresses Lord Hṛṣīkeśa as the master of the senses. His pastimes are inconceivably glorious.

  2. 2

    His existence can be inferred from the need for a creator and revealer of all cosmic manifestations.

  3. 3

    Devotees can understand Him in this way. To nondevotees, He remains silent, absorbed in self-satisfaction.

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 16: Kṛṣṇa Chastises the Serpent Kāliya

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Vomiting blood from his mouths, Kāliya finally understood that Kṛṣṇa was the primeval personality, Lord Nārāyaṇa, the spiritual master of all moving and nonmoving creatures, and he took shelter of Him. Seeing how very weary Kāliya had become, his wives, the Nāgapatnīs, bowed down at Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. avyākṛta-vihārāyato Him whose glories are unfathomable
  2. sarva-vyākṛtathe creation and manifestation of all things
  3. siddhayeto Him who can be understood as existent on the basis of
  4. hṛṣīka-īśaO motivator of the senses
  5. namaḥobeisances
  6. teunto You
  7. astulet there be
  8. munayeto the silent
  9. mauna-śīlineto Him who acts in silence
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.16

    In this verse: “devotees”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 10.16

    In this verse: “understand”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I approaching the Lord with devotion as well as a desire to understand?

Practice

Offer obeisances to Hṛṣīkeśa, acknowledging Him as the master of your senses.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lord Reveals Himself to DevoteesThis 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 10.16.47? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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