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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

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 55: The History of Pradyumna

10.55.30 10.55.32

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.55.31

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Rukmiṇīsince 10.55.31inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

को न्वयं नरवैदूर्य: कस्य वा कमलेक्षण: ।

धृत: कया वा जठरे केयं लब्धा त्वनेन वा ॥ ३१ ॥

ko nv ayam nara-vaidūryaḥ

kasya vā kamalekṣaṇaḥ

dhṛtaḥ kayā vā jaṭhare

keyaṁ labdhā tv anena vā

Translation

[Śrīmatī Rukmiṇī-devī said:] Who is this lotus-eyed jewel among men? What man’s son is He, and what woman carried Him in her womb? And who is this woman He has taken as His wife?

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Rukmiṇī Wonders About the Beautiful Stranger

1
Śrīmatī Rukmiṇī-devī called the young man lotus-eyed and a jewel among men.
2
She wondered whose son He was and which woman had carried Him in her womb.
3
She also asked who the woman was whom He had taken as His wife.

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 55: The History of Pradyumna

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

When Rukmiṇī-devī saw Pradyumna, she felt overwhelmed with motherly love, and milk began to flow spontaneously from her breasts. Noting that Pradyumna looked exactly like Kṛṣṇa, she became eager to find out who He was.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.55