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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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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 54: The Marriage of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī
10.54.1310.54.15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.54.14

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Jarāsandhasince 10.54.11inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

तथाप्यहं न शोचामि न प्रहृष्यामि कर्हिचित् ।

कालेन दैवयुक्तेन जानन् विद्रावितं जगत् ॥ १४ ॥

tathāpy ahaṁ na śocāmi

na prahṛṣyāmi karhicit

kālena daiva-yuktena

jānan vidrāvitaṁ jagat

Translation

But still I never lament or rejoice, because I know this world is driven by time and fate.

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.

Time Reveals and Imposes Destiny

  1. 1

    Jarāsandha says he neither laments nor rejoices, knowing that the world is driven by time and fate.

  2. 2

    Time is a specific means by which the Supreme Lord controls this world. It means more than measuring days, weeks, months and years.

  3. 3

    Time also refers to the way things are being moved. Everyone's destiny is revealed and imposed through its movements.

Key points from the purport
  • Having stated that the Supreme Lord controls this world, Jarāsandha explains the specific method of control.
  • It should be remembered that in the Vedic context kāla, or time, does not refer merely to a system of measuring planetary movements such as days, weeks, months and years but rather to the way things are being moved.
  • Everything is moving according to its destiny, and this destiny is also described as “time,” since everyone’s destiny is revealed and imposed by the movements of time.

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 54: The Marriage of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Jarāsandha consoled Śiśupāla: “Happiness and distress are never permanent and are under the control of the Supreme Lord. Seventeen times Kṛṣṇa defeated me, but in the end I was victorious over Him.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.54
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tathā apinonetheless
  2. ahamI
  3. na śocāmido not lament
  4. na prahṛṣyāmido not rejoice
  5. karhicitever
  6. kālenaby time
  7. daivawith fate
  8. yuktenaconjoined
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 10.54

    In this verse: “lament”, “laments”

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 could remembering the Lord's control through time soften your reaction to changing circumstances?

Practice

Pause over one change you cannot control today, and quietly acknowledge that time moves under the Supreme Lord's control.

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 10.54's connections

Live this todayTime Reveals and Imposes DestinyThis 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 10.54.14? Get an answer from the verses themselves.