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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 44: The Killing of Kaṁsa
10.44.410.44.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.44.5

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.44.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

उत्थापनैरुन्नयनैश्चालनै: स्थापनैरपि । परस्परं जिगीषन्तावपचक्रतुरात्मन: ॥ ५ ॥

utthāpanair unnayanaiś

cālanaiḥ sthāpanair api

parasparaṁ jigīṣantāv

apacakratur ātmanaḥ

Translation

Forcefully lifting and carrying each other, pushing each other away and holding each other down, the fighters hurt even their own bodies in their great eagerness for victory.

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.

The Lords Only Appeared to Be Hurt

  1. 1

    The fighters forcefully lifted and carried each other, pushed each other away and held each other down.

  2. 2

    Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma did not harm Themselves. They only appeared to do so to Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika and others of mundane vision.

  3. 3

    The Lords were fully absorbed in the pastime of being wrestlers.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that although Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma did not, of course, harm Themselves, it appeared that way to Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika and others of mundane vision.
  • In other words, the Lords were fully absorbed in the pastime of being wrestlers.

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 44: The Killing of Kaṁsa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Battling arm to arm, head to head, knee to knee and chest to chest, the opponents attacked each other so fiercely that they appeared to be harming even their own bodies.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.44
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. utthāpanaiḥwith lifting up
  2. unnayanaiḥcarrying
  3. cālanaiḥpushing away
  4. sthāpanaiḥholding stationary
  5. apialso
  6. parasparameach other
  7. jigīṣantauwanting victory
  8. apacakratuḥthey harmed
  9. ātmanaḥ(even) themselves
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

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

How does this purport help me distinguish the Lords’ pastime from its outward appearance?

Practice

Pause today to remember Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma’s wrestling pastime without mistaking Their apparent injury for actual harm.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Lords Only Appeared to Be HurtThis 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 10.44.5? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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