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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 31: The Gopīs’ Songs of Separation
10.31.1810.32.1

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.31.19

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The gopīssince 10.31.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यत्ते सुजातचरणाम्बुरुहं स्तनेषु

भीता: शनै: प्रिय दधीमहि कर्कशेषु ।

तेनाटवीमटसि तद् व्यथते न किंस्वित्

कूर्पादिभिर्भ्रमति धीर्भवदायुषां न: ॥ १९ ॥

yat te sujāta-caraṇāmburuhaṁ staneṣu

bhītāḥ śanaiḥ priya dadhīmahi karkaśeṣu

tenāṭavīm aṭasi tad vyathate na kiṁ svit

kūrpādibhir bhramati dhīr bhavad-āyuṣāṁ naḥ

Translation

O dearly beloved! Your lotus feet are so soft that we place them gently on our breasts, fearing that Your feet will be hurt. Our life rests only in You. Our minds, therefore, are filled with anxiety that Your tender feet might be wounded by pebbles as You roam about on the forest path.

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.

Their Life Rests Only in Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    The gopīs describe Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet as exceedingly soft. They place them gently on their breasts, fearing that His feet might be hurt.

  2. 2

    As He roams the forest path, they worry that pebbles may wound His tender feet.

  3. 3

    Their life rests only in Kṛṣṇa. Their minds are therefore filled with anxiety for His well-being.

Key points from the purport
  • The translation of this verse is from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s English rendering of Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 4.173).
  • Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C.
  • Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Thirty-first Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Gopīs’ Songs of Separation.”

The purport'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 10.31.19 quotesCC Ādi 4.173

The translation of this verse is from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s English rendering of Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 4.173).

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 8.219

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.31.19).

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 18.65

This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.31.19) spoken by the gopīs when Kṛṣṇa left them in the midst of the rāsa-līlā.

Quoted in the purport ofCC Antya 7.40

This verse is spoken by the gopīs in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.31.19).

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

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 31: The Gopīs’ Songs of Separation

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

And when we remember how You followed the cows from forest to forest with Your tender feet, we feel great pain.” In their separation from Kṛṣṇa the gopīs considered a single moment an entire age.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.31
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yatwhich
  2. teYour
  3. su-jātavery fine
  4. caraṇa-ambu-ruhamlotus feet
  5. staneṣuon the breasts
  6. bhītāḥbeing afraid
  7. śanaiḥgently
  8. priyaO dear one
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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 10.31

    In this verse: “fearing”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does the gopīs’ gentleness reveal about the care within their love?

Practice

Read the words “Our life rests only in You” slowly, and reflect for one minute on the gopīs’ devotion to Kṛṣṇa.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayTheir Life Rests Only in KṛṣṇaThis 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 10.31.19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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