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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 39: Akrūra’s Vision
10.39.1410.39.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.39.15

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.39.8inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अन्याश्च तदनुध्याननिवृत्ताशेषवृत्तय: ।

नाभ्यजानन्निमं लोकमात्मलोकं गता इव ॥ १५ ॥

anyāś ca tad-anudhyāna

nivṛttāśeṣa-vṛttayaḥ

nābhyajānann imaṁ lokam

ātma-lokaṁ gatā iva

Translation

Other gopīs entirely stopped their sensory activities and became fixed in meditation on Kṛṣṇa. They lost all awareness of the external world, just like those who attain the platform of self-realization.

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.

Loving Service Is the Highest Self-Realization

  1. 1

    Some gopīs stopped all sensory activities and became fixed in meditation on Kṛṣṇa. They lost awareness of the external world.

  2. 2

    The purport explains that the individual soul is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. The gopīs were already on the platform of self-realization.

  3. 3

    Because they rendered the most intense loving service to the Lord, the gopīs stood at the highest stage of self-realization. Loving devotional service is the goal.

Key points from the purport
  • The gopīs were in fact already on the platform of self-realization.
  • The Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 20.108) states, jīvera svarūpa haya kṛṣṇera nitya-dāsa: “The self, or individual soul, is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.”
  • Thus because they were rendering the most intense loving service to the Lord, the gopīs were situated at the highest stage of self-realization.

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

The purport of SB 10.39.15 quotesCC Madhya 20.108-109

The Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 20.108) states, jīvera svarūpa haya kṛṣṇera nitya-dāsa: “The self, or individual soul, is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.”

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

Anxiety and conflict → Liberation and joy. Heroic victory is complicated by separation from Vraja.

Chapters 39–45 of Canto 10: Mathurā, Kaṁsa and reunion with parents. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 39: Akrūra’s Vision

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

They lost all external awareness and began to remember Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. Condemning the creator for separating them from Him, they began to lament.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.39
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. anyāḥothers
  2. caand
  3. taton Him
  4. anudhyānaby fixed meditation
  5. nivṛttaceased
  6. aśeṣaall
  7. vṛttayaḥtheir sensory functions
  8. na abhyajānanthey were unaware
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.39

    In this verse: “devotional service”

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 would remembering that I am Kṛṣṇa's eternal servant shape my day?

Practice

Take one quiet minute to remember Kṛṣṇa and your eternal relationship of service to Him.

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 10.39's connections

Live this todayLoving Service Is the Highest Self-RealizationThis 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 10.39.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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