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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

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 39: Akrūra’s Vision

10.39.27 10.39.29

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.39.28

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

निवारयाम: समुपेत्य माधवं

किं नोऽकरिष्यन् कुलवृद्धबान्धवा: ।

मुकुन्दसङ्गान्निमिषार्धदुस्त्यजाद्

दैवेन विध्वंसितदीनचेतसाम् ॥ २८ ॥

nivārayāmaḥ samupetya mādhavaṁ

kiṁ no ’kariṣyan kula-vṛddha-bāndhavāḥ

mukunda-saṅgān nimiṣārdha-dustyajād

daivena vidhvaṁsita-dīna-cetasām

Translation

Let us directly approach Mādhava and stop Him from going. What can our family elders and other relatives do to us? Now that fate is separating us from Mukunda, our hearts are already wretched, for we cannot bear to give up His association even for a fraction of a second.

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.

Their True Desire Is Kṛṣṇa's Association

1
The gopīs propose approaching Kṛṣṇa, pulling at His clothes and hands, and insisting that He leave the chariot and stay.
2
Some fear that their relatives will discover their secret love and abandon them. Others feel they have nothing to lose now that Kṛṣṇa is leaving.
3
Even punishment seems bearable if Kṛṣṇa remains in their village. They imagine staying alive on remnants of His food brought by their girlfriends.

Key points from the purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī describes what the gopīs thought: “Let us go right up to Kṛṣṇa and pull at His clothes and hands and insist that He get down from His chariot and stay here with us.
We will remain in the Vṛndāvana forest just like presiding goddesses, and then we can fulfill our true desire — to stay with Kṛṣṇa in the forest.”
But if Kṛṣṇa is not stopped, we will certainly die.”

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

Chapter 39: Akrūra’s Vision

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

So let us forget our shyness and try to stop Lord Mādhava from going.” With these words the young cowherd girls began to chant Kṛṣṇa’s names and cry.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.39

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

nivārayāmaḥlet us stop
samupetyagoing up to Him
mādhavamKṛṣṇa
kimwhat
naḥto us
akariṣyanwill do
kulaof the family
vṛddhathe elders

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
Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment
Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 10.39
In this verse: “give up”
Prema · Transcendental love
The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 10.39
In this verse: “love”
Abhaya · Fearlessness
Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 10.39
In this verse: “fear”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does their willingness to endure hardship reveal about their desire for Kṛṣṇa's association?

Practice

Set aside one small convenience today to make time for remembering Kṛṣṇa.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The gopīs and the rāsa danceSB 10.20–22 · The gopīs’ flute songs and vowKṛṣṇa explains that desires fixed upon Him do not produce ordinary material desire for sense gratification. The gopīs’ attention is centered upon Him.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.39's connections

Live this todayTheir True Desire Is Kṛṣṇa's AssociationThis 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 10.39.28? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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