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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
10.29.3310.29.35

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.29.34

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The beautiful gopīssince 10.29.31inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

चित्तं सुखेन भवतापहृतं गृहेषु

यन्निर्विशत्युत करावपि गृह्यकृत्ये ।

पादौ पदं न चलतस्तव पादमूलाद्

याम: कथं व्रजमथो करवाम किं वा ॥ ३४ ॥

cittaṁ sukhena bhavatāpahṛtaṁ gṛheṣu

yan nirviśaty uta karāv api gṛhya-kṛtye

pādau padaṁ na calatas tava pāda-mūlād

yāmaḥ kathaṁ vrajam atho karavāma kiṁ vā

Translation

Until today our minds were absorbed in household affairs, but You easily stole both our minds and our hands away from our housework. Now our feet won’t move one step from Your lotus feet. How can we go back to Vraja? What would we do there?

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 Captures the Gopīs’ Minds

  1. 1

    The music of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s flute stole the gopīs’ minds away from household affairs. Their hands, too, were drawn away from housework.

  2. 2

    The purport describes them as coming to demand back their stolen property—their minds. They could regain them only if Kṛṣṇa accepted them in conjugal love.

  3. 3

    Their feet refused to move even one step from His lotus feet. They could not accept being sent home to wait.

Key points from the purport
  • Now they had come to see Kṛṣṇa to demand back their stolen property, but they could regain their minds only if Śrī Kṛṣṇa accepted them and engaged with them in conjugal affairs.
  • Let Me consider the situation for a day or two, and then I will give you back your minds.”
  • So please give us back our minds and accept us, and then we will go.”

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:

The gopīs were crestfallen to hear this, and after crying a little they replied, with a bit of anger, “It is very unfair for You to reject young girls who have abandoned everything in their lives and come to You with the exclusive desire to serve You. By serving our husbands and children we receive only pain, whereas by serving You, the dearmost Soul of all living beings, we will perfectly fulfill the true religious duty of the self.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.29
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. cittamour minds
  2. sukhenaeasily
  3. bhavatāby You
  4. apahṛtamwere stolen
  5. gṛheṣuin our households
  6. yatwhich
  7. nirviśatiwere absorbed
  8. utamoreover
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “household”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 10.29

    In this verse: “love”

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 does the gopīs’ inability to leave reveal about their absorption in Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Pause for one minute today and give your attention to this description of Kṛṣṇa’s flute and the gopīs’ response.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Captures the Gopīs’ MindsThis 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 10.29.34? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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