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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.33.36

Who is speaking and story frame

अनुग्रहाय भक्तानां मानुषं देहमास्थित: ।

भजते ताद‍ृशी: क्रीडा या: श्रुत्वा तत्परो भवेत् ॥ ३६ ॥

anugrahāya bhaktānāṁ

mānuṣaṁ deham āsthitaḥ

bhajate tādṛśīḥ krīḍa

yāḥ śrutvā tat-paro bhavet

Translation

When the Lord assumes a humanlike body to show mercy to His devotees, He engages in such pastimes as will attract those who hear about them to become dedicated to Him.

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.

Hearing His Pastimes Awakens Devotion

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa manifests His original two-handed form in a way that devotees conditioned in human society can perceive and understand. His humanlike appearance is an act of kindness.

  2. 2

    His loving pastimes have inconceivable spiritual potency to attract the polluted hearts of conditioned souls.

  3. 3

    A pure- or simple-hearted person who hears these narrations becomes attracted to the Lord's lotus feet. Through such hearing, one gradually becomes His devotee.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains in this connection that when Lord Kṛṣṇa descends to this world in His original two-handed form, out of kindness He manifests that form in a way His devotees conditioned in human society can perceive and understand.
  • Thus here it is stated, mānuṣaṁ deham āsthitaḥ: “He assumes a humanlike body.”
  • It is an undeniable fact that any pure- or simple-hearted person who hears narrations of the loving affairs of Kṛṣṇa will be attracted to the lotus feet of the Lord and gradually become His devotee.

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 Ādi 4.34

This text is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.33.36). The Supreme Personality of Godhead has innumerable expansions of His transcendental form who eternally exist in the spiritual world.

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 33: The Rāsa Dance

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When out of His mercy He exhibits His intimate pastimes to His devotees, these activities are never besmirched by mundane imperfection. Any living being who hears of the spontaneous loving attraction the gopīs felt for Lord Kṛṣṇa will have his desires for material sense gratification destroyed at the root and will develop his natural propensity for serving the Supreme Lord, the spiritual master, and the Lord’s devotees.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.33
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. anugrahāyato show mercy
  2. bhaktānāmto His devotees
  3. mānuṣamhumanlike
  4. dehama body
  5. āsthitaḥassuming
  6. bhajateHe accepts
  7. tādṛśīḥsuch
  8. kriḍāḥpastimes
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • 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: “hearing”, “narrations”

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 10.33

    In this verse: “mercy”

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

How can I approach hearing about Kṛṣṇa with a simpler, more receptive heart?

Practice

Spend a few minutes attentively rereading this passage, with the desire to become more dedicated to Kṛṣṇa.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayHearing His Pastimes Awakens DevotionThis 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 10.33.36? Get an answer from the verses themselves.