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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
10.39.2810.39.30

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.39.29

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

यस्यानुरागललितस्मितवल्गुमन्त्र-

लीलावलोकपरिरम्भणरासगोष्ठाम् ।

नीता: स्म न: क्षणमिव क्षणदा विना तं

गोप्य: कथं न्वतितरेम तमो दुरन्तम् ॥ २९ ॥

yasyānurāga-lalita-smita-valgu-mantra

līlāvaloka-parirambhaṇa-rāsa-goṣṭhām

nītāḥ sma naḥ kṣaṇam iva kṣaṇadā vinā taṁ

gopyaḥ kathaṁ nv atitarema tamo durantam

Translation

When He brought us to the assembly of the rāsa dance, where we enjoyed His affectionate and charming smiles, His delightful secret talks, His playful glances and His embraces, we passed many nights as if they were a single moment. O gopīs, how can we possibly cross over the insurmountable darkness of His absence?

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.

Love Changes the Experience of Time

  1. 1

    The gopīs remember Kṛṣṇa's affectionate smiles, secret talks, playful glances and embraces at the rāsa dance.

  2. 2

    A long time in His association passed like a single moment.

  3. 3

    A single moment in His absence seemed very long. They describe that absence as insurmountable darkness.

Key points from the purport
  • For the gopīs, a long time in Kṛṣṇa’s association passed like a moment, and a single moment in His absence seemed like a very long time.

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:

The cowherd men of Gokula followed behind on their wagons, and the young gopīs also walked behind for some distance, but then they became placated by Kṛṣṇa’s glances and gestures and pacified by a message from Him that said “I will return.” With their minds completely absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, the cowherd girls stood as still as figures in a painting until they could no longer see the chariot’s flag or the dust cloud being raised on the road.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.39
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yasyawhose
  2. anurāgawith loving affection
  3. lalitacharming
  4. smita(where there were) smiles
  5. valguattractive
  6. mantraintimate discussions
  7. līlāplayful
  8. avalokaglances
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

What does the gopīs' experience of time reveal about how deeply they value Kṛṣṇa's company?

Practice

Spend one quiet minute rereading their remembrance of Kṛṣṇa without rushing.

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 todayLove Changes the Experience of TimeThis 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 10.39.29? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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