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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

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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 33: The Rāsa Dance

10.33.24 10.33.26-27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.33.25

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.33.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

एवं शशाङ्कांशुविराजिता निशा:

स सत्यकामोऽनुरताबलागण: ।

सिषेव आत्मन्यवरुद्धसौरत:

सर्वा: शरत्काव्यकथारसाश्रया: ॥ २५ ॥

evaṁ śaśāṅkāṁśu-virājitā niśāḥ

sa satya-kāmo ’nuratābalā-gaṇaḥ

siṣeva ātmany avaruddha-saurataḥ

sarvāḥ śarat-kāvya-kathā-rasāśrayāḥ

Translation

Although the gopīs were firmly attached to Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose desires are always fulfilled, the Lord was not internally affected by any mundane sex desire. Still, to perform His pastimes the Lord took advantage of all those moonlit autumn nights, which inspire poetic descriptions of transcendental affairs.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa’s Loving Pastimes Are Transcendental

1
The gopīs were firmly attached to Kṛṣṇa, whose desires are always fulfilled. Yet He was not internally affected by mundane sex desire.
2
Rasa indicates the spiritual bliss arising from a loving relationship with Lord Kṛṣṇa. This bliss is experienced in spiritual pastimes with the Lord and His devotees.
3
Kṛṣṇa arranged extraordinary autumn nights to enhance His loving affairs and inspire transcendental poets. His pastimes are unlimited, so their glorification can never be complete and will continue forever.

Key points from the purport

It is difficult to translate into English the word rasa, which indicates the spiritual bliss derived from one’s loving relationship with Lord Kṛṣṇa.
These descriptions are never complete, however, since the Lord’s pastimes are unlimited; thus the attempt to glorify such pastimes is still going on and will go on forever.
Lord Kṛṣṇa arranged an extraordinary season of beautiful autumn nights to enhance His loving affairs, and those autumn nights have inspired transcendental poets since time immemorial.

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· 1

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 14.158

This verse is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.33.25).

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

Chapter 33: The Rāsa Dance

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Although He is one without a second, He expands Himself into many forms to increase His personal pastimes. Therefore great scholars say that Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa-līlā is like a child’s playing with His own reflection.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.33

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

evamin this manner
śaśāṅkaof the moon
aṁśuby the rays
virājitāḥmade brilliant
niśāḥthe nights
saḥHe
satya-kāmaḥwhose desires are always fulfilled
anurataconstantly attached to Him

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 10.33
In this verse: “attached”
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.33
In this verse: “devotees”
Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting
Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 10.33
In this verse: “glorification”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does distinguishing spiritual bliss from mundane desire change your reading of these pastimes?

Practice

Write one sentence glorifying Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental pastimes, using a detail from this translation.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s Loving Pastimes Are TranscendentalThis 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 10.33.25? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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