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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 ›
Canto 10 · Chapter 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb
10.2.3810.2.40

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.2.39

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The demigodssince 10.2.26inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

न तेऽभवस्येश भवस्य कारणं

विना विनोदं बत तर्कयामहे ।

भवो निरोध: स्थितिरप्यविद्यया

कृता यतस्त्वय्यभयाश्रयात्मनि ॥ ३९ ॥

na te ’bhavasyeśa bhavasya kāraṇaṁ

vinā vinodaṁ bata tarkayāmahe

bhavo nirodhaḥ sthitir apy avidyayā

kṛtā yatas tvayy abhayāśrayātmani

Translation

O Supreme Lord, You are not an ordinary living entity appearing in this material world as a result of fruitive activities. Therefore Your appearance or birth in this world has no other cause than Your pleasure potency. Similarly, the living entities, who are part of You, have no cause for miseries like birth, death and old age, except when these living entities are conducted by Your external energy.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Seek Kṛṣṇa’s Fearless Shelter

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead appears by His pleasure potency, not because He is forced by karma. He is free to come whenever He likes.

  2. 2

    Living entities are parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa, but wanting enjoyment without Him brings them under the illusory energy. Forgetting their position as His eternal servants, they suffer birth, death, old age and disease.

  3. 3

    Shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet is fearless shelter. By devotional service—thinking of Him, glorifying Him and chanting about Him—we can return to our original, liberated position.

Key points from the purport
  • As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7), mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ: the living entities are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, and thus they are qualitatively one with the Lord.
  • The living entities come to this material world in the spirit of enjoyment, but because they want to enjoy without Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha haiyā bhoja-vāñchā kare), they suffer birth, death, old age and disease under the control of the illusory energy.
  • There are philosophers who do not believe in the Lord’s incarnation and who ask, “Why should the Supreme Lord come?”

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

Connected verses· 2

The purport of SB 10.2.39 quotesBG 15.7

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7), mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ: the living entities are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, and thus they are qualitatively one with the Lord.

The purport of SB 10.2.39 quotesBG 4.7

As He says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.7): “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion — at that time I descend Myself.”

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

Terror → Wonder and relief. The threat of destruction yields to divine appearance.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 10: Threat from Kaṁsa and Kṛṣṇa's birth. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When a devotee fully surrenders at the lotus feet of the Lord, he is completely liberated from the fear of material existence. By explaining why the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends, the prayers of the demigods clearly confirm the Lord’s statement in Bhagavad-gītā (4.7):
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.2
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nanot
  2. teof Your Lordship
  3. abhavasyaof whom there is no birth, death or maintenance as for an ordinary being
  4. īśaO Supreme Lord
  5. bhavasyaof Your appearance, Your birth
  6. kāraṇamthe cause
  7. vināwithout
  8. vinodamthe pastimes (despite what is said, You are not forced to come to this world by any cause)
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 10.2

    In this verse: “death”, “fearless”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.2

    In this verse: “material”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 10.2

    In this verse: “chanting”, “glorifying”

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

Where do you notice the wish to enjoy independently of Kṛṣṇa in your own life?

Practice

Pause today to glorify Kṛṣṇa in a short prayer and ask for shelter as His eternal servant.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySeek Kṛṣṇa’s Fearless ShelterThis 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 10.2.39? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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