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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.
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Canto 10 · Chapter 4: The Atrocities of King Kaṁsa
10.4.1510.4.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.4.16

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.4.7inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

स त्वहं त्यक्तकारुण्यस्त्यक्तज्ञातिसुहृत् खल: । कान्लोकान् वै गमिष्यामि ब्रह्महेव मृत: श्वसन् ॥ १६ ॥

sa tv ahaṁ tyakta-kāruṇyas

tyakta-jñāti-suhṛt khalaḥ

kān lokān vai gamiṣyāmi

brahma-heva mṛtaḥ śvasan

Translation

Being merciless and cruel, I have forsaken all my relatives and friends. Therefore, like a person who has killed a brāhmaṇa, I do not know to which planet I shall go, either after death or while breathing.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Cruelty Abandons Mercy and Relationships

  1. 1

    Kaṁsa acknowledges that he has become merciless and cruel.

  2. 2

    He admits that he has forsaken his relatives and friends.

  3. 3

    Comparing himself to someone who has killed a brāhmaṇa, he fears his destination. He does not know what awaits him either during life or after death.

How it feels

Terror → Wonder and relief. The threat of destruction yields to divine appearance.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 10: Threat from Kaṁsa and Kṛṣṇa's birth. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 4: The Atrocities of King Kaṁsa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Therefore your plan to persecute all the children will prove futile.” According to the prophecy, the eighth child of Devakī would kill Kaṁsa, and therefore when Kaṁsa saw that the eighth child was a female and heard that his so-called enemy had taken birth elsewhere, he was struck with wonder.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.4
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥthat person (Kaṁsa)
  2. tuindeed
  3. ahamI
  4. tyakta-kāruṇyaḥdevoid of all mercy
  5. tyakta-jñāti-suhṛtmy relatives and friends have been rejected by me
  6. khalaḥcruel
  7. kān lokānwhich planets
  8. vaiindeed
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 10.4

    In this verse: “death”, “fears”

  • Sakhya · Sacred friendship

    The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 10.4

    In this verse: “friends”

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

Where might a lack of mercy be damaging my relationships?

Practice

Show one relative or friend a concrete kindness today.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayCruelty Abandons Mercy and RelationshipsThis 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 10.4.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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