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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 22: Kṛṣṇa Steals the Garments of the Unmarried Gopīs
10.22.2710.22.29

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.22.28

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.22.28inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीशुक उवाच

इत्यादिष्टा भगवता लब्धकामा: कुमारिका: ।

ध्यायन्त्यस्तत्पदाम्भोजं कृच्छ्रान्निर्विविशुर्व्रजम् ॥ २८ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca

ity ādiṣṭā bhagavatā

labdha-kāmāḥ kumārikāḥ

dhyāyantyas tat-padāmbhojam

kṛcchrān nirviviśur vrajam

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thus instructed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the young girls, their desire now fulfilled, could bring themselves only with great difficulty to return to the village of Vraja, meditating all the while upon His lotus feet.

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.

Remembering Kṛṣṇa While Following His Instruction

  1. 1

    The gopīs’ desire was fulfilled because Kṛṣṇa had agreed to reciprocate their love in the role of a husband.

  2. 2

    The purport explains that His promise to join them in the nocturnal rāsa dance during the coming autumn season carried this meaning.

  3. 3

    Following the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s instruction, they returned to Vraja with great difficulty. All the while, they meditated on His lotus feet.

Key points from the purport
  • The gopīs’ desire was fulfilled because Lord Kṛṣṇa had agreed to act as their husband.
  • A young girl can never spend the night with any man except her husband, and thus when Kṛṣṇa agreed to engage the girls in the nocturnal rāsa dance during the coming autumn season, in effect He was agreeing to reciprocate their love for Him in the role of a husband.

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

Attraction and threat → Joy and trust. The pastoral world becomes the setting for protection and love.

Chapters 20–28 of Canto 10: Forest seasons, flute and Govardhana. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 22: Kṛṣṇa Steals the Garments of the Unmarried Gopīs

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Next autumn, He told them, their most cherished desire would be fulfilled. Then the gopīs, fully satisfied, returned to Vraja, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His cowherd friends went off to a distant place to graze the cows.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.22
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-śukaḥ uvācaŚrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
  2. itithus
  3. ādiṣṭāḥinstructed
  4. bhagavatāby the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  5. labdhahaving obtained
  6. kāmāḥtheir desire
  7. kumārikāḥthe young girls
  8. dhyāyantyaḥmeditating
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

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 10.22

    In this verse: “love”

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

How can I keep remembering Kṛṣṇa while carrying out what I need to do?

Practice

During one short walk today, quietly meditate on Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRemembering Kṛṣṇa While Following His InstructionThis 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 10.22.28? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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