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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 ›
Canto 10 · Chapter 29: Kṛṣṇa and the Gopīs Meet for the Rāsa Dance
10.29.1510.29.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.29.16

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.29.13inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

न चैवं विस्मय: कार्यो भवता भगवत्यजे । योगेश्वरेश्वरे कृष्णे यत एतद् विमुच्यते ॥ १६ ॥

na caivaṁ vismayaḥ kāryo

bhavatā bhagavaty aje

yogeśvareśvare kṛṣṇe

yata etad vimucyate

Translation

You should not be so astonished by Kṛṣṇa, the unborn master of all masters of mystic power, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. After all, it is the Lord who liberates this world.

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.

Hearing Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes Purifies Material Desire

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa is the unborn Supreme Personality of Godhead and the master of all masters of mystic power. His power to liberate should not astonish us.

  2. 2

    The Lord’s purpose is to bring conditioned souls back home, back to Godhead, for an eternal life of bliss and knowledge.

  3. 3

    His conjugal pastimes with the gopīs are pure spiritual activities. Hearing about them can cure the disease of material lust and bring purification and liberation.

Key points from the purport
  • Parīkṣit Mahārāja should not have been so astonished that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s so-called romantic affairs are in fact meant to liberate the entire universe.
  • The Lord’s conjugal affairs with the gopīs fit in very nicely with that program because we who are actually lusty in material consciousness can be purified and liberated by hearing of them.
  • Thus Kṛṣṇa’s romantic affairs, being pure, spiritual activities, will cure those who hear about them of the disease of material lust.

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· 2

The purport of SB 10.29.16 quotesSB 1.5.33

In the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.33), Nārada Muni states: “O good soul, does not a thing applied therapeutically cure a disease that was caused by that very same thing?”

Quoted in the purport ofCC Antya 3.84

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.29.16).

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

Separation → Transcendental intimacy. The peak of longing reveals the intensity of selfless love.

Chapters 29–33 of Canto 10: The gopīs' yearning, reunion and rasa. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 29: Kṛṣṇa and the Gopīs Meet for the Rāsa Dance

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When the gopīs came before Lord Kṛṣṇa, He asked, “Why have you come? It is not good for you to travel to such a place in the dead of the night, for this forest is full of violent creatures.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.29
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. na canor
  2. evamlike this
  3. vismayaḥastonishment
  4. kāryaḥshould be had
  5. bhavatāby you
  6. bhagavatiin regard to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  7. ajewho is unborn
  8. yoga-īśvaraof the masters of yoga
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.29

    In this verse: “lust”, “material”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 10.29

    In this verse: “hearing”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 10.29

    In this verse: “purification”

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 hear Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes with a desire for purification rather than material enjoyment?

Practice

Read this verse and purport attentively, keeping their stated purpose of purification in mind.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayHearing Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes Purifies Material DesireThis 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 10.29.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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