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 54: The Marriage of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī

10.54.7 10.54.9

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.54.8

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.54.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

हस्ता: सासिगदेष्वासा: करभा ऊरवोऽङ्‍‍घ्रय: ।

अश्वाश्वतरनागोष्ट्रखरमर्त्यशिरांसि च ॥ ८ ॥

hastāḥ sāsi-gadeṣv-āsāḥ

karabhā ūravo ’ṅghrayaḥ

aśvāśvatara-nāgoṣṭra-

khara-martya-śirāṁsi ca

Translation

Lying all around were thighs, legs and fingerless hands, along with hands clutching swords, clubs and bows, and also the heads of horses, donkeys, elephants, camels, wild asses and humans.

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.

Understanding the Battlefield Description

1
The battlefield was strewn with severed limbs and the heads of humans and animals. Some hands still clutched swords, clubs and bows.
2
The purport explains that karabhāḥ means the portion of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers.
3
Karabhāḥ can also mean an elephant’s trunk. Thus the verse implies that the thighs on the battlefield resembled elephants’ trunks.

Key points from the purport

Karabhāḥ indicates the portion of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers.
The same word may also indicate an elephant’s trunk, and thus in this verse the implication is that the thighs lying on the battlefield resembled the trunks of elephants.

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

Chapter 54: The Marriage of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The enemy kings, headed by Jarāsandha, retreated after suffering the destruction of their armies at the hands of the Yādavas. Jarāsandha consoled Śiśupāla: “Happiness and distress are never permanent and are under the control of the Supreme Lord.

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