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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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
10.39.2610.39.28

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.39.27

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The gopīssince 10.39.19inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अनार्द्रधीरेष समास्थितो रथं

तमन्वमी च त्वरयन्ति दुर्मदा: ।

गोपा अनोभि: स्थविरैरुपेक्षितं

दैवं च नोऽद्य प्रतिकूलमीहते ॥ २७ ॥

anārdra-dhīr eṣa samāsthito rathaṁ

tam anv amī ca tvarayanti durmadāḥ

gopā anobhiḥ sthavirair upekṣitaṁ

daivaṁ ca no ’dya pratikūlam īhate

Translation

Hard-hearted Kṛṣṇa has already mounted the chariot, and now the foolish cowherds are hurrying after Him in their bullock carts. Even the elders are saying nothing to stop Him. Today fate is working against us.

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.

Separation Makes Everything Seem Against Them

  1. 1

    The gopīs see Kṛṣṇa on the chariot, the cowherds hurrying after Him, and the elders doing nothing to stop Him.

  2. 2

    Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains their thought: those helping Kṛṣṇa leave will return to Vṛndāvana and surely die in His absence.

  3. 3

    To the grieving gopīs, the whole world has become nonsensical, and fate is working against them.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī reveals what the gopīs thought: “These foolish cowherd men and elders are not even trying to stop Kṛṣṇa.
  • They are helping Kṛṣṇa go to Mathurā, but they will have to come back to Vṛndāvana and will certainly die in His absence.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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:

“It must be that fate is against us,” they lamented, “because otherwise the elders of Vraja would have forbidden Kṛṣṇa to leave. So let us forget our shyness and try to stop Lord Mādhava from going.”
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.39
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. anārdra-dhīḥhard-hearted
  2. eṣaḥthis (Kṛṣṇa)
  3. samāsthitaḥhaving mounted
  4. rathamthe chariot
  5. tamHim
  6. anufollowing
  7. amīthese
  8. caand
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 10.39

    In this verse: “absence”

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 does the purport help you understand the gopīs' strong words as expressions of separation?

Practice

Reread the verse while keeping the gopīs' grief, rather than their accusations alone, in mind.

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 todaySeparation Makes Everything Seem Against ThemThis 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 10.39.27? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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