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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 40: The Prayers of Akrūra

10.40.6 10.40.8

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.40.7

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

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

अन्ये च संस्कृतात्मानो विधिनाभिहितेन ते ।

यजन्ति त्वन्मयास्त्वां वै बहुमूर्त्येकमूर्तिकम् ॥ ७ ॥

anye ca saṁskṛtātmāno

vidhinābhihitena te

yajanti tvan-mayās tvāṁ vai

bahu-mūrty-eka-mūrtikam

Translation

And yet others — those whose intelligence is pure — follow the injunctions of Vaiṣṇava scriptures promulgated by You. Absorbing their minds in thought of You, they worship You as the one Supreme Lord manifesting in multiple forms.

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.

Pure Intelligence Leads to Direct Worship

1
Those whose intelligence is pure follow the Vaiṣṇava scriptures given by the Lord. Their minds are absorbed in thought of Him.
2
The earlier forms of indirect worship reflect intelligence not yet completely purified of material contamination.
3
Purified worshipers directly worship Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or His plenary forms, such as Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna or Aniruddha. They worship one Supreme Lord manifesting in multiple forms.

Key points from the purport

The word saṁskṛtātmānaḥ, “they whose intelligence is pure,” is significant here.
It implies that the worshipers mentioned before have not completely purified their intelligence of material contamination and thus worship the Lord indirectly.
Those who are purified, however, directly worship the Lord, either as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, or as one of His various plenary forms, such as Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna or Aniruddha, as indicated here.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

Quoted in the purport ofCC Madhya 20.173

This verse is quoted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.40.7).

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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:

Fruitive workers worship Him by performing Vedic sacrifices, philosophers by renouncing material work and pursuing spiritual knowledge, yogīs by meditating, Śaivites by worshiping Lord Śiva, Vaiṣṇavas by following the injunctions of such scriptures as the Pañcarātra, and other saintly persons by worshiping Him as the original form of the self, of the material substance and of the controlling demigods.

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

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

anyeothers
caand
saṁskṛtapurified
ātmānaḥwhose intelligence
vidhināby the injunctions (of such scriptures as the Pañcarātra)
abhihitenapresented
teby You
yajantiworship

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
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.40
In this verse: “worship”
Śuddhi · Inner transformation
The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 10.40
In this verse: “purified”, “contamination”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.40
In this verse: “material”

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 helps your mind become more absorbed in the Lord during worship?

Practice

Set aside one minute for direct worship of Kṛṣṇa, gently bringing your attention back to Him.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPure Intelligence Leads to Direct WorshipThis 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 10.40.7? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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