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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

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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 4: The Atrocities of King Kaṁsa

10.4.8 10.4.10-11

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.4.9

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.4.7inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

सा तद्धस्तात् समुत्पत्य सद्यो देव्यम्बरं गता ।

अद‍ृश्यतानुजा विष्णो: सायुधाष्टमहाभुजा ॥ ९ ॥

sā tad-dhastāt samutpatya

sadyo devy ambaraṁ gatā

adṛśyatānujā viṣṇoḥ

sāyudhāṣṭa-mahābhujā

Translation

The child, Yoga-māyā-devī, the younger sister of Lord Viṣṇu, slipped upward from Kaṁsa’s hands and appeared in the sky as Devī, the goddess Durgā, with eight arms, completely equipped with weapons.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Yoga-māyā Escapes Kaṁsa’s Grasp

1
The child slipped upward from Kaṁsa’s hands instead of falling against the stone. She appeared in the sky as Durgā, with eight arms equipped with weapons.
2
The purport identifies her as Yoga-māyā, the younger sister of Lord Viṣṇu.
3
The description “younger sister” is significant. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, must have taken birth from Yaśodā simultaneously with His birth from Devakī.

Key points from the purport

Kaṁsa tried to dash the child downward against a piece of stone, but since she was Yoga-māyā, the younger sister of Lord Viṣṇu, she slipped upward and assumed the form of the goddess Durgā.
The word anujā, meaning “the younger sister,” is significant.
Otherwise how could Yoga-māyā have been anujā, the Lord’s younger sister?

Śrīla Prabhupāda'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

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

Chapter 4: The Atrocities of King Kaṁsa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Unfortunately for Kaṁsa, however, the newborn child slipped away from his hands, rose above his head and appeared as the eight-armed form of Durgā. Durgā then told Kaṁsa, “The enemy you contemplate has taken birth somewhere else.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.4

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

sāthat female child
tat-hastātfrom the hand of Kaṁsa
sam-utpatyaslipped upward
sadyaḥimmediately
devīthe form of a demigoddess
ambaraminto the sky
gatāwent
adṛśyatawas seen

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
Vātsalya · Parental affection
Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 10.4
In this verse: “child”, “yaśodā”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does Yoga-māyā’s escape reveal the limits of Kaṁsa’s power?

Practice

Reread the translation today, noting the change from a child in Kaṁsa’s hands to the armed goddess in the sky.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayYoga-māyā Escapes Kaṁsa’s GraspThis 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 10.4.9? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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