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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
  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
10.51.4510.51.47

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.51.46

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śrī Mucukundasince 10.51.45inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

लब्ध्वा जनो दुर्लभमत्र मानुषं

कथञ्चिदव्यङ्गमयत्नतोऽनघ ।

पादारविन्दं न भजत्यसन्मति-

र्गृहान्धकूपे पतितो यथा पशु: ॥ ४६ ॥

labdhvā jano durlabham atra mānuṣaṁ

kathañcid avyaṅgam ayatnato ’nagha

pādāravindaṁ na bhajaty asan-matir

gṛhāndha-kūpe patito yathā paśuḥ

Translation

That person has an impure mind who, despite having somehow or other automatically obtained the rare and highly evolved human form of life, does not worship Your lotus feet. Like an animal that has fallen into a blind well, such a person has fallen into the darkness of a material home.

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.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Use Human Life for God Consciousness

  1. 1

    The rare human form is a gift of God, not something we constructed ourselves. It should be used to achieve the perfection of God consciousness.

  2. 2

    Our real home is eternal, in the spiritual kingdom. Death will remove us from our material affairs despite our determination to remain.

  3. 3

    Staying at home and caring for loved ones are not bad. But neglecting worship of the Lord’s lotus feet shows dull, mundane understanding.

Key points from the purport
  • Our real home is in the kingdom of God.
  • Despite our tenacious determination to remain in our material home, death will rudely eject us from the theater of material affairs.
  • We have not constructed our human bodies, and therefore we should not foolishly claim, “This body is mine.”

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

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. labdhvāattaining
  2. janaḥa person
  3. durlabhamrarely obtained
  4. atrain this world
  5. mānuṣamthe human form of life
  6. kathañcitsomehow or other
  7. avyaṅgamwith undistorted limbs (unlike the various animal forms)
  8. ayatnataḥwithout endeavor
3

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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.51

    In this verse: “material”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 10.51

    In this verse: “worship”

  • Prema · Transcendental love

    The intimacy and sweetness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. · Theme in SB 10.51

    In this verse: “loved”

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 I care for my loved ones while remembering the true purpose of human life?

Practice

Set aside two minutes at home today to worship the Lord, remembering that human life is His gift.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayUse Human Life for God ConsciousnessThis 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 10.51.46? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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