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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 30: The Gopīs Search for Kṛṣṇa
10.30.1410.30.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.30.15

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The gopīssince 10.30.5inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

कस्याचित् पूतनायन्त्या: कृष्णायन्त्यपिबत् स्तनम् ।

तोकयित्वा रुदत्यन्या पदाहन् शकटायतीम् ॥ १५ ॥

kasyācit pūtanāyantyāḥ

kṛṣṇāyanty apibat stanam

tokayitvā rudaty anyā

padāhan śakaṭāyatīm

Translation

One gopī imitated Pūtanā, while another acted like infant Kṛṣṇa and pretended to suck her breast. Another gopī, crying in imitation of infant Kṛṣṇa, kicked a gopī who was taking the role of the cart demon, Śakaṭāsura.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

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.

Remembering Kṛṣṇa’s Infant Pastimes

  1. 1

    One gopī took the role of Pūtanā, while another acted as infant Kṛṣṇa and pretended to suck her breast.

  2. 2

    Another gopī imitated infant Kṛṣṇa’s crying and kicked a gopī playing the cart demon, Śakaṭāsura.

  3. 3

    Through these different roles, the gopīs continued their absorbed remembrance of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

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 30: The Gopīs Search for Kṛṣṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

In another place they noticed that Kṛṣṇa’s footprints were showing only the toes, and thus the gopīs concluded He had been picking flowers with which to decorate His beloved. In yet another spot the gopīs saw signs that led them to imagine that Śrī Kṛṣṇa had been tying the locks of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s hair.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.30
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kasyācitof one of the gopīs
  2. pūtanāyantyāḥwho was acting like the witch Pūtanā
  3. kṛṣṇāyantīanother, who was acting like Kṛṣṇa
  4. apibatdrank
  5. stanamfrom the breast
  6. tokayitvāacting like an infant
  7. rudatīcrying
  8. anyāanother
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

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 10.30

    In this verse: “crying”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 10.30

    In this verse: “infant”

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

Which detail of these enactments helps you focus your remembrance on infant Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Reread this verse once, then briefly recall its two scenes as an exercise in remembering Kṛṣṇa.

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.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.30's connections

Live this todayRemembering Kṛṣṇa’s Infant PastimesThis 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 10.30.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.