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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

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 54: The Marriage of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī

10.54.45 10.54.47

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.54.46

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Lord Balarāmasince 10.54.41inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

नात्मनोऽन्येन संयोगो वियोगश्चासत: सति ।

तद्धेतुत्वात्तत्प्रसिद्धेर्द‍ृग्‌रूपाभ्यां यथा रवे: ॥ ४६ ॥

nātmano ’nyena saṁyogo

viyogaś casataḥ sati

tad-dhetutvāt tat-prasiddher

dṛg-rūpābhyāṁ yathā raveḥ

Translation

O intelligent lady, the soul never undergoes contact with or separation from insubstantial, material objects, because the soul is their very origin and illuminator. Thus the soul resembles the sun, which neither comes in contact with nor separates from the sense of sight and what is seen.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Spirit Does Not Become Matter

1
The conditioned soul mistakenly identifies with the body and undergoes birth and death. Matter and spirit are both energies of the Supreme Lord, the original source of everything.
2
The living beings’ desire to exploit matter sustains material existence. Their desire to enjoy without the Lord’s loving cooperation is compared to criminal conduct that makes a prison necessary.
3
The soul causes matter to assemble into a body and makes the body perceptible. Kṛṣṇa manifests the material universe through His potency, yet eternally remains spiritual and never becomes material.

Key points from the purport

As explained in the previous text, the conditioned soul ignorantly assumes himself to be the material body and thus rotates in the cycle of birth and death.
Thus here the phrase tad-dhetutvāt is used to describe the soul, meaning that the soul is the cause of matter assembling itself into a material body.
Besides its given meaning, the word ātmanaḥ in this verse may indicate the Supreme Soul, in which case the term tad-dhetutvāt indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa expands His personal potency and thus manifests the material universe.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 10.54.46 quotesBG 7.5

As Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.5), jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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 54: The Marriage of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

He further instructed her about the transcendental position of the jīva soul and how the illusion of happiness and distress is simply a result of ignorance. Accepting Lord Balarāma’s instructions, Rukmiṇī gave up her sorrow.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.54

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

nanot
ātmanaḥfor the self
anyenawith anything else
saṁyogaḥcontact
viyogaḥseparation
caand
asataḥwith that which is insubstantial
satiO discriminating one

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
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.54
In this verse: “material”
Viraha · Longing in separation
Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 10.54
In this verse: “separation”
Abhaya · Fearlessness
Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 10.54
In this verse: “death”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where am I trying to enjoy independently of the Lord’s loving cooperation?

Practice

Before pursuing one enjoyment today, pause and consider whether it expresses cooperation with the Lord or a wish to enjoy independently.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySpirit Does Not Become MatterThis 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.

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