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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
  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
10.44.710.44.9

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.44.8

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The womensince 10.44.7inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

क्‍व वज्रसारसर्वाङ्गौ मल्लौ शैलेन्द्रसन्निभौ । क्‍व चातिसुकुमाराङ्गौ किशोरौ नाप्तयौवनौ ॥ ८ ॥

kva vajra-sāra-sarvāṅgau

mallau śailendra-sannibhau

kva cāti-sukumārāṅgau

kiśorau nāpta-yauvanau

Translation

What comparison can there be between these two professional wrestlers, with limbs as strong as lightning bolts and bodies resembling mighty mountains, and these two young, immature boys with exceedingly tender limbs?

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.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Women Describe an Unequal Match

  1. 1

    The women described the professional wrestlers’ limbs as strong as lightning bolts.

  2. 2

    They compared the wrestlers’ bodies to mighty mountains.

  3. 3

    In contrast, they described the two boys as young and immature, with exceedingly tender limbs.

Connected verses· 1

Quoted in the purport ofSB 10.45.3

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī discusses this verse as follows: “One may object that at this point Lord Kṛṣṇa had not actually passed the kaiśora stage [age ten to fifteen], since the women of Mathurā had stated, kva cāti-sukumārāṅgau kiśorau nāpta-yauvanau: ‘Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma have very tender limbs, being still at the kiśora stage, not having reached adolescence.’

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

Further reading

Chapter 44: The Killing of Kaṁsa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The ladies in the arena, seeing the violent battle, began to condemn the King and all the members of the assembly: “A respectable audience should never have allowed a wrestling match between such huge wrestlers, whose limbs are as tough as lightning bolts, and such tender young boys, who are just entering youth. An intelligent person should never enter an assembly if he sees injustice being done there.”
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.44
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kvawhere, on the one hand
  2. vajraof lightning
  3. sārawith the strength
  4. sarvaall
  5. aṅgauwhose limbs
  6. mallautwo wrestlers
  7. śailamountains
  8. indralike the chief
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

Which contrast in the women’s description most helps me understand their concern?

Practice

Read the two descriptions side by side and note one detail that explains the women’s alarm.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Women Describe an Unequal MatchThis 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 10.44.8? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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