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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 24: Worshiping Govardhana Hill
10.24.1410.24.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.24.15

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Kṛṣṇasince 10.24.13inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

किमिन्द्रेणेह भूतानां स्वस्वकर्मानुवर्तिनाम् । अनीशेनान्यथा कर्तुं स्वभावविहितं नृणाम् ॥ १५ ॥

kim indreṇeha bhūtānāṁ

sva-sva-karmānuvartinām

anīśenānyathā kartuṁ

svabhāva-vihitaṁ nṛṇām

Translation

Living beings in this world are forced to experience the consequences of their own particular previous work. Since Lord Indra cannot in any way change the destiny of human beings, which is born of their own nature, why should people worship him?

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.

Use Free Will to Satisfy God

  1. 1

    Living beings experience results fixed by their previous activities. Even the demigods must award those results rather than change them independently.

  2. 2

    Karma does not remove free will. We can still choose pious or impious activities, and those choices determine our future enjoyment and suffering.

  3. 3

    The overriding consideration is that we are all eternal servants of God. Whatever we do should satisfy Him.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa’s argument here is not a negation of free will.
  • Our happiness and distress in this life have already been adjudicated and fixed according to our previous activities, and not even the demigods can change that.
  • Thus, although no one can change the karmic results due him in this life, everyone still retains his free will, by which he determines what his future situation will be.

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 24: Worshiping Govardhana Hill

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Kṛṣṇa responded, “It is because of karma alone that living entities take their birth in a certain body, experience varieties of happiness and suffering in that body, and then give it up as the karma pertaining to it runs out. Thus it is karma alone that is our enemy, our friend, our guru and our lord, and Indra can do nothing to alter the happiness and distress of anyone, for everyone is tightly bound by his karmic reactions.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.24
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kimwhat
  2. indreṇawith Indra
  3. ihahere
  4. bhūtānāmfor living entities
  5. sva-svaeach their own
  6. karmaof fruitive action
  7. anuvartināmwho are experiencing the consequences
  8. anīśena(Indra) who is incapable
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.24

    In this verse: “worship”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 10.24

    In this verse: “suffering”

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 use my freedom today to satisfy God?

Practice

Before making one choice about your time or resources, pause and ask whether it will help you serve God.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayUse Free Will to Satisfy GodThis 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 10.24.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.