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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

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

10.24.28 10.24.30

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.24.29

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

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

स्वलङ्कृता भुक्तवन्त: स्वनुलिप्ता: सुवासस: । प्रदक्षिणां च कुरुत गोविप्रानलपर्वतान् ॥ २९ ॥

sv-alaṅkṛtā bhuktavantaḥ

sv-anuliptāḥ su-vāsasaḥ

pradakṣiṇāṁ ca kuruta

go-viprānala-parvatān

Translation

After everyone has eaten to his satisfaction, you should all dress and decorate yourselves handsomely, smear your bodies with sandalwood paste and then circumambulate the cows, the brāhmaṇas, the sacrificial fires and Govardhana Hill.

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.

Celebrate With Prasādam and Reverence

1
Lord Kṛṣṇa wants all human beings and even animals to enjoy bhagavat-prasādam, sanctified food offered to the Lord.
2
Fine clothes, ornaments and refreshing sandalwood paste help bring His relatives into a festive mood.
3
The essential activity is circumambulating the holy brāhmaṇas, cows, sacrificial fires and especially Govardhana Hill.

Key points from the purport

Lord Kṛṣṇa wanted all the human beings and even the animals to eat nice bhagavat-prasādam, sanctified foods offered to the Lord.
To enthuse His relatives with a festive mood, He requested them to dress beautifully with fine clothes and ornaments and to refresh their bodies with luxurious sandalwood paste.
The essential activity, however, was the circumambulation of the holy brāhmaṇas, cows, sacrificial fires and especially Govardhana Hill.

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

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