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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 51: The Deliverance of Mucukunda
10.51.3610.51.38

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.51.37

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Lordsince 10.51.36inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

क्व‍‍चिद् रजांसि विममे पार्थिवान्युरुजन्मभि: ।

गुणकर्माभिधानानि न मे जन्मानि कर्हिचित् ॥ ३७ ॥

kvacid rajāṁsi vimame

pārthivāny uru-janmabhiḥ

guṇa-karmābhidhānāni

na me janmāni karhicit

Translation

After many lifetimes someone might count the dust particles on the earth, but no one can ever finish counting My qualities, activities, names and births.

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.

No Counting Can Exhaust the Lord’s Glories

  1. 1

    The Lord says that someone might count the earth’s dust particles after many lifetimes.

  2. 2

    Yet no one can ever finish counting His qualities, activities, names and births.

  3. 3

    The comparison emphasizes that even such an immense counting effort cannot exhaust His glories.

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 wise Mucukunda, understanding the futility of material life, asked only that he might be allowed to take shelter of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. Pleased at this request, the Lord said to Mucukunda, “My devotees are never enticed by material benedictions offered to them; only nondevotees, namely yogīs and speculative philosophers, are interested in material benedictions, having mundane desires in their hearts.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.51
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kvacitat some time
  2. rajāṁsithe particles of dust
  3. vimameone might count
  4. pārthivānion the earth
  5. uru-janmabhiḥin many lifetimes
  6. guṇaqualities
  7. karmaactivities
  8. abhidhānāniand names
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

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 might this comparison help you approach learning about the Lord with humility?

Practice

Reflect on one quality or activity of the Lord described in these notes, without trying to grasp all His glories.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayNo Counting Can Exhaust the Lord’s GloriesThis 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 10.51.37? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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