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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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

10.24.17 10.24.19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.24.18

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Lord Kṛṣṇasince 10.24.13inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

तस्मात्सम्पूजयेत्कर्म स्वभावस्थ: स्वकर्मकृत् । अञ्जसा येन वर्तेत तदेवास्य हि दैवतम् ॥ १८ ॥

tasmāt sampūjayet karma

svabhāva-sthaḥ sva-karma-kṛt

anjasā yena varteta

tad evāsya hi daivatam

Translation

Therefore one should seriously worship work itself. A person should remain in the position corresponding to his nature and should perform his own duty. Indeed, that by which we may live nicely is really our worshipable deity.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Worship Kṛṣṇa, Not Work Itself

1
Kṛṣṇa proposes that one should worship the work that sustains one’s life. The purport rejects the idea that an occupation is itself God.
2
Material work is the interaction of the temporary body with material nature. The conscious soul is different from the body and should not worship that interaction.
3
The laws of karma do not explain their own origin or maintenance. The actual conclusion is that worship is meant for Kṛṣṇa Himself.

Key points from the purport

Lord Kṛṣṇa here proposes the modern if absurd philosophy that our work or occupation is really God and that we should therefore simply worship our work.
And if that is the case, why should a transcendental soul worship the interaction of the temporary body with material nature?
If the words sampūjayet karma here mean that one should worship the laws of karma governing our activities, then one may astutely ask what it means to worship laws and, indeed, what might be the origin of such laws and who is maintaining them.

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· 1

The purport of SB 10.24.18 quotesBG 3.28

Upon close scrutiny, we observe that our work is nothing more than the interaction of the material body with material nature, as Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself states in a more serious mood, in the Bhagavad-gītā (3.28): guṇā guṇeṣu vartanta.

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

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

Chapter 24: Worshiping Govardhana Hill

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Therefore you should offer worship to the cows, the brāhmaṇas and Govardhana Hill.” After Kṛṣṇa spoke thus, He arranged for the cowherd men to worship Govardhana with the paraphernalia collected for the sacrifice to Indra.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.24

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

tasmāttherefore
sampūjayetone should fully worship
karmahis prescribed activity
svabhāvain the position corresponding to his own conditioned nature
sthaḥremaining
sva-karmahis own prescribed duty
kṛtperforming
añjasāwithout difficulty

Key ideas in this verse

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

Manvantara · The change of Manus
What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.24
In this verse: “worship”
Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct
Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 10.24
In this verse: “duty”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.24
In this verse: “material”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Have I allowed my occupation to take the place of worship?

Practice

Set aside a few minutes apart from your work today specifically to worship Kṛṣṇa.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayWorship Kṛṣṇa, Not Work ItselfThis 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.

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