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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 59: The Killing of the Demon Naraka
10.59.2510.59.27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.59.26

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Goddess Bhūmisince 10.59.25inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

नम: पङ्कजनाभाय नम: पङ्कजमालिने ।

नम: पङ्कजनेत्राय नमस्ते पङ्कजाङ्‍‍घ्रये ॥ २६ ॥

namaḥ paṅkaja-nābhāya

namaḥ paṅkaja-māline

namaḥ paṅkaja-netrāya

namas te paṅkajāṅghraye

Translation

My respectful obeisances are unto You, O Lord, whose abdomen is marked with a depression like a lotus flower, who are always decorated with garlands of lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as the lotus and whose feet are engraved with lotuses.

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.

Remember the Lord’s Lotuslike Beauty

  1. 1

    The prayer honors the Lord whose abdomen bears a depression like a lotus flower and who wears garlands of lotuses.

  2. 2

    His glance is as cooling as a lotus, and His feet are engraved with lotuses. These features are remembered with respectful obeisances.

  3. 3

    Queen Kuntī offered this same prayer many years after this incident. Although her prayer appears earlier in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it was spoken later.

Key points from the purport
  • Queen Kuntī offered this same prayer, which is found in First Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Chapter 8, text 22.
  • The synonyms and translation given here are taken from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s rendering of that text.
  • We may also note that although Kuntī’s prayer occurs early in the Bhāgavatam, she offered it many years after the incident described here.

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 59: The Killing of the Demon Naraka

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

She offered prayers to the Lord and presented Naraka’s frightened son at Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. After pacifying the demon’s son, Kṛṣṇa entered Narakāsura’s palace, where He found sixteen thousand one hundred young women.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.59
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. namaḥall respectful obeisances
  2. paṅkaja-nābhāyaunto the Lord who has a specific depression resembling a lotus flower in the center of His abdomen
  3. namaḥobeisances
  4. paṅkaja-mālineone who is always decorated with a garland of lotus flowers
  5. namaḥobeisances
  6. paṅkaja-netrāyaone whose glance is as cooling as a lotus flower
  7. namaḥ terespectful obeisances unto You
  8. paṅkaja-aṅghrayeunto You, the soles of whose feet are engraved with lotus flowers (and who are therefore said to possess lotus feet)
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

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

Which feature of the Lord described here helps me offer heartfelt respect?

Practice

Read the prayer slowly, pausing to remember the Lord’s cooling glance.

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 10.59's connections

Live this todayRemember the Lord’s Lotuslike BeautyThis 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 10.59.26? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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