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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 48: Kṛṣṇa Pleases His Devotees

10.48.10 10.48.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.48.11

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Trivakrāsince 10.48.9inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

दुराराध्यं समाराध्य विष्णुं सर्वेश्वरेश्वरम् ।

यो वृणीते मनोग्राह्यमसत्त्वात् कुमनीष्यसौ ॥ ११ ॥

durārdhyaṁ samārādhya

viṣṇuṁ sarveśvareśvaram

yo vṛṇīte mano-grāhyam

asattvāt kumanīṣy asau

Translation

Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Lord of all lords, is ordinarily difficult to approach. One who has properly worshiped Him and then chooses the benediction of mundane sense gratification is certainly of poor intelligence, for he is satisfied with an insignificant result.

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.

Seek More Than Mundane Pleasure

1
Lord Viṣṇu is the Supreme Lord of all lords and is ordinarily difficult to approach. Worshiping Him and then choosing mundane sense gratification means accepting an insignificant result.
2
The ācāryas explain Trivakrā’s conduct on two levels: she is a liberated soul associating directly with the Lord, yet her conduct also teaches what not to seek from Kṛṣṇa.
3
The Lord’s pastimes are both blissful and instructive. Trivakrā’s purity and her cautionary example do not contradict each other, since they belong to distinct levels.

Key points from the purport

On the one hand, she is understood to be a liberated soul, directly associating with the Lord and participating in His pastimes.
On the other hand, her conduct is clearly meant to teach a lesson about what not to do in relation with Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Since all of the Lord’s pastimes are not only blissful but also didactic, there is no real contradiction in this pastime, since Trivakrā’s purity and her bad example take place on two distinct levels.

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

Heartache → Unbroken remembrance. Love endures and deepens despite visible absence.

Chapters 46–49 of Canto 10: Uddhava, the gopīs and the Song of the Bee. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 48: Kṛṣṇa Pleases His Devotees

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Lord Kṛṣṇa then reclined on an opulent bed as the maidservant Trivakrā elaborately washed and decorated herself. Then she approached Him.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.48

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

durārādhyamrarely worshiped
samārādhyafully worshiping
viṣṇumLord Viṣṇu
sarvaof all
īśvaracontrollers
īśvaramthe supreme controller
yaḥwho
vṛṇītechooses as a benediction

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

Ūti · The creative impetus
Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10
Bhakti · Devotion and loving service
How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.48
In this verse: “worshiped”, “worshiping”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.48
In this verse: “sense gratification”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I seeking devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, or mainly asking Him for temporary pleasure?

Practice

Offer one prayer today asking for service to Kṛṣṇa rather than a material reward.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

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

Kubjā (Trivakrā)SB 10.41–44 · Mathurā and the fall of KaṁsaHearing about Kṛṣṇa had already awakened the Mathurā women’s attraction to Him. The women in the arena also teach that one should not remain where irreligion is flourishing.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.48's connections

Live this todaySeek More Than Mundane PleasureThis 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 10.48.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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