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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 3: The Birth of Lord Kṛṣṇa
10.3.2310.3.25

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.3.24

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śrī Devakīsince 10.3.24inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीदेवक्युवाच

रूपं यत् तत् प्राहुरव्यक्तमाद्यं

ब्रह्म ज्योतिर्निर्गुणं निर्विकारम् ।

सत्तामात्रं निर्विशेषं निरीहं

स त्वं साक्षाद् विष्णुरध्यात्मदीप: ॥ २४ ॥

śrī-devaky uvāca

rūpaṁ yat tat prāhur avyaktam ādyaṁ

brahma jyotir nirguṇaṁ nirvikāram

sattā-mātraṁ nirviśeṣaṁ nirīhaṁ

sa tvaṁ sākṣād viṣṇur adhyātma-dīpaḥ

Translation

Śrī Devakī said: My dear Lord, there are different Vedas, some of which describe You as unperceivable through words and the mind. Yet You are the origin of the entire cosmic manifestation. You are Brahman, the greatest of everything, full of effulgence like the sun. You have no material cause, You are free from change and deviation, and You have no material desires. Thus the Vedas say that You are the substance. Therefore, my Lord, You are directly the origin of all Vedic statements, and by understanding You, one gradually understands everything. You are different from the light of Brahman and Paramātmā, yet You are not different from them. Everything emanates from You. Indeed, You are the cause of all causes, Lord Viṣṇu, the light of all transcendental knowledge.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Is the Origin of Everything

  1. 1

    There is no difference between Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Kṛṣṇa, because both are viṣṇu-tattva. Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of all spiritual and material worlds.

  2. 2

    Although everything emanates from Kṛṣṇa, He is ultimately a person. Brahman depends on Him, and He is present within the universe and the atom as Paramātmā.

  3. 3

    As an unalloyed devotee, Devakī understood that Lord Viṣṇu had appeared as her son. His eternal forms are changeless, full of knowledge and bliss, and uncontaminated by material qualities.

Key points from the purport
  • Viṣṇu is the origin of everything, and there is no difference between Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Kṛṣṇa because both of Them are viṣṇu-tattva.
  • According to different phases of understanding, Lord Viṣṇu is differently described, but in fact He is the origin of everything.
  • We may conclude, therefore, that Lord Viṣṇu is everything, although He is also different from everything.

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· 4

The purport of SB 10.3.24 quotesBG 10.8

Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.8), ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds.

The purport of SB 10.3.24 quotesBG 14.27

Kṛṣṇa therefore says in Bhagavad-gītā (14.27), brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham; “Brahman rests upon Me.”

The purport of SB 10.3.24 quotesBG 9.23

“Whatever a man may sacrifice to other gods, O son of Kuntī, is really meant for Me alone, but it is offered without true understanding.”

The purport of SB 10.3.24 quotesSB 10.28.15

The Absolute Truth is described later in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.28.15) as satyaṁ jñānam anantam yad brahma-jyotiḥ sanātanam.

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

Further reading

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 summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-devakī uvācaŚrī Devakī said
  2. rūpamform or substance
  3. yat tatbecause You are the same substance
  4. prāhuḥYou are sometimes called
  5. avyaktamnot perceivable by the material senses ( ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ)
  6. ādyamYou are the original cause
  7. brahmaYou are known as Brahman
  8. jyotiḥlight
3

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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 10.3

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understanding”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.3

    In this verse: “material”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 10.3

    In this verse: “free from”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does knowing Kṛṣṇa as the personal source of everything shape my desire to serve Him?

Practice

Offer a short prayer acknowledging Kṛṣṇa as the source of everything and expressing your desire for devotional service.

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.

The purport quotesSB 10.28.15

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.3's connections

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is the Origin of EverythingThis 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 10.3.24? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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