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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 45: Kṛṣṇa Rescues His Teacher’s Son

10.45.28 10.45.30-31

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.45.29

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Lord Balarāmasince 10.45.21inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

ततश्च लब्धसंस्कारौ द्विजत्वं प्राप्य सुव्रतौ ।

गर्गाद् यदुकुलाचार्याद्गायत्रं व्रतमास्थितौ ॥ २९ ॥

tataś ca labdha-saṁskārau

dvijatvaṁ prāpya su-vratau

gargād yadu-kulācāryād

gāyatraṁ vratam āsthitau

Translation

After attaining twice-born status through initiation, the Lords, sincere in Their vows, took the further vow of celibacy from Garga Muni, the spiritual master of the Yadus.

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.

Sincere Vows Shape Spiritual Student Life

1
After initiation, the Lords take a further vow from Garga Muni, the spiritual master of the Yadus.
2
The purport explains this as the vow of brahmacarya, or celibacy in student life.
3
Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma play the part of perfect students on the path of self-realization. Their sincere discipline contrasts with student life filled with illicit sex and drugs.

Key points from the purport

Both Śrīdhara Svāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explain the term gāyatraṁ vratam as the vow of brahmacarya, or celibacy in student life.
Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were playing the part of perfect students on the path of self-realization.
Of course, in the modern, degraded age, student life has become a wild, animalistic affair filled with illicit sex and drugs.

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

Chapter 45: Kṛṣṇa Rescues His Teacher’s Son

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma then went to Garga Muni to take the vow of brahmacarya, celibacy. Afterward, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, though omniscient, desired to reside at the school of a spiritual master, and thus They went to live with Sāndīpani Muni at Avantīpura.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.45