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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 45: Kṛṣṇa Rescues His Teacher’s Son
10.45.3910.45.41

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.45.40

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The oceansince 10.45.40inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीसमुद्र उवाच

न चाहार्षमहं देव दैत्य: पञ्चजनो महान् ।

अन्तर्जलचर: कृष्ण शङ्खरूपधरोऽसुर: ॥ ४० ॥

śrī-samudra uvāca

na cāhārṣam ahaṁ deva

daityaḥ pañcajano mahān

antar-jala-caraḥ kṛṣṇa

śaṅkha-rūpa-dharo ’suraḥ

Translation

The ocean replied: O Lord Kṛṣṇa, it was not I who abducted him, but a demonic descendant of Diti named Pañcajana, who travels in the water in the form of a conch.

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 Ocean Acknowledges Its Limits

  1. 1

    The ocean addressed Kṛṣṇa as Lord and explained that it had not abducted the child.

  2. 2

    The abductor was Pañcajana, a demonic descendant of Diti who traveled through the water in the form of a conch.

  3. 3

    The purport explains that Pañcajana was too powerful for the ocean to control. Otherwise, the ocean would have prevented this unlawful act.

Key points from the purport
  • Clearly the demon Pañcajana was too powerful for the ocean to control; otherwise the ocean would have prevented such an unlawful act.

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 45: Kṛṣṇa Rescues His Teacher’s Son

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Kṛṣṇa asked the ocean to return His spiritual master’s son, and the lord of the ocean replied that a demon dwelling within the ocean named Pāñcajana had taken the boy away. Hearing this, Śrī Kṛṣṇa entered the ocean, killed that demon and took the shell that had grown from his body.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.45
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-samudraḥ uvācathe ocean personified said
  2. nanot
  3. caand
  4. ahārṣamdid take (him) away
  5. ahamI
  6. devaO Lord
  7. daityaḥa descendant of Diti
  8. pañcajanaḥnamed Pañcajana
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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 10.45

    In this verse: “child”

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

Can I honestly acknowledge the limits of my power?

Practice

Name one difficulty beyond your control and acknowledge that limitation in a brief prayer to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.45's connections

Live this todayThe Ocean Acknowledges Its LimitsThis 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 10.45.40? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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