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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 51: The Deliverance of Mucukunda
10.51.1710.51.19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.51.18

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.51.14inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

सुता महिष्यो भवतो ज्ञातयोऽमात्यमन्त्रिण: ।

प्रजाश्च तुल्यकालीना नाधुना सन्ति कालिता: ॥ १८ ॥

sutā mahiṣyo bhavato

jñātayo ’mātya-mantrinaḥ

prajāś ca tulya-kālīnā

nādhunā santi kālitāḥ

Translation

“The children, queens, relatives, ministers, advisers and subjects who were your contemporaries are no longer alive. They have all been swept away by time.

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.

Time Sweeps Away Our Companions

  1. 1

    Mucukunda's children, queens and relatives who had been his contemporaries were no longer alive.

  2. 2

    His ministers, advisers and subjects of that time had also passed away.

  3. 3

    The demigods explained that all of them had been swept away by time.

How it feels

Yearning and danger → Marriage and reciprocity. A wider range of divine relationships appears.

Chapters 50–59 of Canto 10: Dvārakā, Rukmiṇī and royal rescues. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 51: The Deliverance of Mucukunda

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The man had been sleeping for a very long time, and now, having been violently awakened, he looked around angrily in all directions and saw Kālayavana. The man stared harshly at him, igniting a fire in Kālayavana’s body and in a moment burning him to ashes.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.51
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sutāḥchildren
  2. mahiṣyaḥqueens
  3. bhavataḥyour
  4. jñātayaḥother relatives
  5. amātyaministers
  6. mantriṇaḥand advisers
  7. prajāḥsubjects
  8. caand
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 10.51

    In this verse: “children”

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 does remembering the passing of time affect the way you value those around you?

Practice

Pause today to appreciate someone in your life, remembering that your time together is limited.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayTime Sweeps Away Our CompanionsThis 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 10.51.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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