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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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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 40: The Prayers of Akrūra

10.39.56-57 10.40.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.40.1

Āśraya· The supreme shelter

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Akrūrasince 10.40.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीअक्रूर उवाच

नतोऽस्म्यहं त्वाखिलहेतुहेतुं

नारायणं पूरुषमाद्यमव्ययम् ।

यन्नाभिजातादरविन्दकोषाद्

ब्रह्माविरासीद् यत एष लोक: ॥ १ ॥

śrī-akrūra uvāca

nato ’smy ahaṁ tvākhila-hetu-hetuṁ

nārāyaṇaṁ pūruṣam ādyam avyayam

yan-nābhi-jātād aravinda-koṣād

brahmāvirāsīd yata eṣa lokaḥ

Translation

Śrī Akrūra said: I bow down to You, the cause of all causes, the original and inexhaustible Supreme Person, Nārāyaṇa. From the whorl of the lotus born from Your navel, Brahmā appeared, and by his agency this universe has come into being.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

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.

The Supreme Person Is the Original Cause

1
Akrūra bows down to Nārāyaṇa, the original and inexhaustible Supreme Person.
2
The Lord is the cause of all causes. Akrūra acknowledges Him as the ultimate source of creation.
3
Brahmā appeared from the lotus born from the Lord’s navel. Through Brahmā’s agency, this universe came into being.

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 40: The Prayers of Akrūra

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Akrūra prayed, “Brahmā, who created this visible world, emanated from the lotus navel of the Supreme Lord. The five elements of physical nature, the five corresponding objects of perception, the ten senses, the ego, the total nature, the primeval creator and the demigods all originate from His bodily limbs.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.40