1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by canto and chapter

Canto

Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

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 51: The Deliverance of Mucukunda

10.51.19 10.51.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.51.20

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.51.14inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

वरं वृणीष्व भद्रं ते ऋते कैवल्यमद्य न: ।

एक एवेश्वरस्तस्य भगवान् विष्णुरव्यय: ॥ २० ॥

varaṁ vṛṇīṣva bhadraṁ te

ṛte kaivalyam adya naḥ

eka eveśvaras tasya

bhagavān viṣṇur avyayaḥ

Translation

“All good fortune to you! Now please choose a benediction from us — anything but liberation, since only the infallible Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, can bestow that.”

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Only Viṣṇu Can Bestow Liberation

1
The demigods wished Mucukunda all good fortune and invited him to choose a benediction.
2
Their offer excluded liberation; this was beyond their power to grant.
3
Only the infallible Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, can bestow liberation.

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

Chapter 51: The Deliverance of Mucukunda

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When the demigods had eventually obtained Kārttikeya as their protector, they allowed Mucukunda to retire, offering him any boon other than liberation, which only Lord Viṣṇu can bestow. Mucukunda had chosen from the demigods the benediction of being covered by sleep, and thus since then he had been lying asleep within the cave.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.51