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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 3: The Birth of Lord Kṛṣṇa

10.3.13 10.3.15-17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.3.14

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Vasudevasince 10.3.13inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

स एव स्वप्रकृत्येदं सृष्ट्वाग्रे त्रिगुणात्मकम् ।

तदनु त्वं ह्यप्रविष्ट: प्रविष्ट इव भाव्यसे ॥ १४ ॥

sa eva svaprakṛtyedaṁ

sṛṣṭvāgre tri-guṇātmakam

tad anu tvaṁ hy apraviṣṭaḥ

praviṣṭa iva bhāvyase

Translation

My Lord, You are the same person who in the beginning created this material world by His personal external energy. After the creation of this world of three guṇas [sattva, rajas and tamas], You appear to have entered it, although in fact You have not.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Appears Yet Remains Unlimited

1
The material world and its three modes are energies coming from Kṛṣṇa. Yet He remains transcendental and aloof; His body is not material like ours.
2
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-pervading, present within and without. Although He appeared as Vasudeva’s son, He did not become limited like an ordinary child.
3
Vasudeva was a devotee in full knowledge of the Lord’s appearance. We should learn the truth from such devotees through humble inquiry and service.

Key points from the purport

Thus the millions of brahmāṇḍas controlled by the Brahmās and other demigods come and go in this material world through the breathing of Mahā-Viṣṇu.
Vasudeva begot the Supreme Personality of Godhead, yet he was in full knowledge of how the Supreme Lord appears and disappears.
Vasudeva was not in ignorance, thinking that because the Supreme Godhead had appeared as his son, the Lord had become limited.

Śrīla Prabhupāda'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 10.3.14 quotesBG 7.4

In Bhagavad-gītā (7.4) the Supreme Personality of Godhead clearly explains: This material world of three modes of nature — sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa — is a composition of earth, water, fire, air, mind, intelligence and false ego, all of which are energies coming from Kṛṣṇa, yet Kṛṣṇa, being always transcendental, is aloof from this material world.

The purport of SB 10.3.14 quotesBG 4.34

Bhagavad-gītā (4.34) therefore recommends: “Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master.

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

Terror → Wonder and relief. The threat of destruction yields to divine appearance.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 10: Threat from Kaṁsa and Kṛṣṇa's birth. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 3: The Birth of Lord Kṛṣṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The Lord, the cause of all causes, is beyond material existence, although He is the creator of this material world. When He enters this world as Paramātmā, He is all-pervading ( aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham), yet He is transcendentally situated.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.3

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

saḥHe (the Supreme Personality of Godhead)
evaindeed
sva-prakṛtyāby Your personal energy ( mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram)
idamthis material world
sṛṣṭvāafter creating
agrein the beginning
tri-guṇa-ātmakammade of three modes of energy ( sattva-rajas-tamo-guṇa)
tat anuthereafter

Key ideas in this verse

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

Āśraya · The summum bonum
Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.3
In this verse: “material”
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 10.3
In this verse: “knowledge”, “inquiry”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.3
In this verse: “devotee”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does Vasudeva’s understanding help me see Kṛṣṇa’s appearance without thinking Him limited?

Practice

Write one sincere question about Kṛṣṇa’s appearance that you would like to ask a knowledgeable devotee.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Appears Yet Remains UnlimitedThis 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 10.3.14? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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