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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
  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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.26.4

Who is speaking and story frame

तोकेनामीलिताक्षेण पूतनाया महौजस:

। पीत: स्तन: सह प्राणै: कालेनेव वयस्तनो: ॥ ४ ॥

tokenāmīlitākṣeṇa

pūtanāyā mahaujasaḥ

pītaḥ stanaḥ saha prāṇaiḥ

kāleneva vayas tanoḥ

Translation

As a mere infant who had hardly yet opened His eyes, He drank the breast milk of the powerful demoness Pūtanā and then sucked out her very life air as well, just as the force of time sucks out the youth of one’s body.

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.

Kṛṣṇa’s Power Is Beyond His Apparent Age

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa had hardly opened His eyes when He drank Pūtanā’s milk and withdrew her life air. The cowherd men wondered how a mere infant could kill such a powerful demoness.

  2. 2

    Time irresistibly takes away our youth and life span. The purport explains that this time is actually Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself.

  3. 3

    In Pūtanā’s case, Kṛṣṇa accelerated the time process. Within an instant, He withdrew the duration of her life.

Key points from the purport
  • With irresistible power, time takes away our life, and that time is actually Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself.
  • Thus in the case of the powerful witch Pūtanā, Lord Kṛṣṇa accelerated the time process and within an instant withdrew the duration of her life.
  • Here the cowherd men mean to say, “How could a mere infant who could barely open His eyes so easily kill a very powerful demoness?”

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 26: Wonderful Kṛṣṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The men approached Nanda Mahārāja and told him that after seeing how Kṛṣṇa, a boy only seven years old, had lifted a mountain, and how He had previously killed the demoness Pūtanā and generated extreme attraction in the hearts of everyone in Vṛndāvana, the men had become doubtful and bewildered about how Śrī Kṛṣṇa could possibly have taken birth in the unsuitable environment of a cowherd community.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.26
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tokenaby the young child
  2. ā-mīlitaalmost closed
  3. akṣeṇawhose eyes
  4. pūtanāyāḥof the witch Pūtanā
  5. mahā-ojasaḥwhose power was very great
  6. pītaḥdrunk
  7. stanaḥthe breast
  8. sahaalong with
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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 10.26

    In this verse: “infant”

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 does remembering that time is Kṛṣṇa affect the value you give to today?

Practice

Set aside one minute today to remember Kṛṣṇa rather than letting that minute pass inattentively.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s Power Is Beyond His Apparent AgeThis 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 10.26.4? Get an answer from the verses themselves.