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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
10.29.2010.29.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Texts 10.29.21-22

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Kṛṣṇasince 10.29.18inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

द‍ृष्टं वनं कुसुमितं राकेशकररञ्जितम् । यमुनानिललीलैजत्तरुपल्लवशोभितम् ॥ २१ ॥ तद् यात मा चिरं गोष्ठं शुश्रूषध्वं पतीन् सती: । क्रन्दन्ति वत्सा बालाश्च तान् पाययत दुह्यत ॥ २२ ॥

dṛṣṭaṁ vanaṁ kusumitaṁ

rākeśa-kara-rañjitam

yamunānila-līlaijat

taru-pallava-śobhitam

tad yāta mā ciraṁ goṣṭhaṁ

śuśrūṣadhvaṁ patīn satīḥ

krandanti vatsā bālāś ca

tān pāyayata duhyata

Translation

Now you have seen this Vṛndāvana forest, full of flowers and resplendent with the light of the full moon. You have seen the beauty of the trees, with their leaves trembling in the gentle breeze coming from the Yamunā. So now go back to the cowherd village. Don’t delay. O chaste ladies, serve your husbands and give milk to your crying babies and calves.

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.

Pure Devotion Amid Kṛṣṇa’s Playful Words

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa describes the moonlit, flowering forest and the gentle breeze from the Yamunā. Outwardly, He then tells the gopīs to return and attend to husbands, babies and calves.

  2. 2

    The purport reveals another meaning: these transcendental beauties stimulate loving exchanges, and Kṛṣṇa invites the gopīs to remain with Him.

  3. 3

    The gopīs cannot tell whether He is joking, inviting them to stay or sending them home. Their absolute purity, simplicity and devotion create the most beautiful pastimes.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura further explains text 22 as follows: “Lord Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Therefore don’t wait a long time before going, but go immediately.’
  • All this Kṛṣṇa says to the gopīs who are married.
  • Thus as Śrī Kṛṣṇa spoke about the beauty of the forest, the gopīs felt embarrassed and bewildered and looked upward at the trees, and as He spoke about the Yamunā they looked all around at the river.

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

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:

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. Your husbands and children will soon come searching after you to bring you home and engage you again in your household duties.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.29
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dṛṣṭamseen
  2. vanamthe forest
  3. kusumitamfull of flowers
  4. rākā-īśaof the moon, the lord of the presiding goddess of the full-moon day
  5. karaby the hand
  6. rañjitammade resplendent
  7. yamunācoming from the Yamunā River
  8. anilaby the wind
3

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

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 10.29

    In this verse: “crying”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.29

    In this verse: “devotion”

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

What draws my attention most in the gopīs’ purity, simplicity and devotion?

Practice

Spend a minute rereading the description of Vṛndāvana, remembering Kṛṣṇa as the object of the gopīs’ love.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPure Devotion Amid Kṛṣṇa’s Playful WordsThis 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 10.29.21-22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.