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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 5: The Meeting of Nanda Mahārāja and Vasudeva
10.5.1010.5.12

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.5.11

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.5.1-2inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

गोप्य: सुमृष्टमणिकुण्डलनिष्ककण्ठ्य-

श्चित्राम्बरा: पथि शिखाच्युतमाल्यवर्षा: ।

नन्दालयं सवलया व्रजतीर्विरेजु-

र्व्यालोलकुण्डलपयोधरहारशोभा: ॥ ११ ॥

gopyaḥ sumṛṣṭa-maṇi-kuṇḍala-niṣka-kaṇṭhyaś

citrāmbarāḥ pathi śikhā-cyuta-mālya-varṣāḥ

nandālayaṁ sa-valayā vrajatīr virejur

vyālola-kuṇḍala-payodhara-hāra-śobhāḥ

Translation

In the ears of the gopīs were brilliantly polished jeweled earrings, and from their necks hung metal lockets. Their hands were decorated with bangles, their dresses were of varied colors, and from their hair, flowers fell onto the street like showers. Thus while going to the house of Mahārāja Nanda, the gopīs, their earrings, breasts and garlands moving, were brilliantly beautiful.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Gopīs’ Eternal Devotion to Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    The beautifully adorned gopīs went to Nanda Mahārāja’s house to welcome Kṛṣṇa. Flowers fell from their hair like showers along the street.

  2. 2

    The gopīs were not ordinary women, but expansions of Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure potency. They are the Lord’s eternal associates.

  3. 3

    The gopīs always worship Kṛṣṇa wherever He goes. The news of His appearance made them especially jubilant, and they came to offer Him their gifts.

Key points from the purport
  • The description of the gopīs, who were going to the house of Mahārāja Nanda to welcome Kṛṣṇa, is especially significant.
  • Therefore Kṛṣṇa is so vividly described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
  • All these gopīs were going to offer Kṛṣṇa their presentations because the gopīs are eternal associates of the Lord.

Śrīla Prabhupāda'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

Worry and play → Parental tenderness. The Supreme becomes the beloved child of His devotees.

Chapters 5–11 of Canto 10: Gokula, Yaśodā and the infant Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 5: The Meeting of Nanda Mahārāja and Vasudeva

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Therefore the King of Vraja, Mahārāja Nanda, wanted to perform the birth ceremony for his child, and this he did. During this great festival, Nanda Mahārāja gave in charity to all present whatever they desired.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. gopyaḥthe gopīs
  2. su-mṛṣṭavery dazzling
  3. maṇimade of jewels
  4. kuṇḍalawearing earrings
  5. niṣka-kaṇṭhyaḥand having little keys and lockets hanging from their necks
  6. citra-ambarāḥdressed with varieties of colored embroidery
  7. pathion their way to Yaśodāmayī’s house
  8. śikhā-cyutafell from their hair
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 10.5

    In this verse: “nanda”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.5

    In this verse: “worship”

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 can the gopīs’ eagerness help me make devotional service my goal?

Practice

Take one minute before your devotional practice to remember that its purpose is to please 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 10.5's connections

Live this todayThe Gopīs’ Eternal Devotion to KṛṣṇaThis 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 10.5.11? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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