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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
  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
10.59.4110.59.43

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.59.42

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.59.32inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अथो मुहूर्त एकस्मिन् नानागारेषु ता: स्‍त्रिय: ।

यथोपयेमे भगवान् तावद् रूपधरोऽव्यय: ॥ ४२ ॥

atho muhūrta ekasmin

nānāgāreṣu tāḥ striyaḥ

yathopayeme bhagavān

tāvad-rūpa-dharo ’vyayaḥ

Translation

Then the imperishable Supreme Personality, assuming a separate form for each bride, duly married all the princesses simultaneously, each in her own palace.

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.

Kṛṣṇa's Marriages Reveal His Inconceivable Potency

  1. 1

    The imperishable Supreme Personality of Godhead assumed a separate form for each bride and married all the princesses simultaneously.

  2. 2

    Each marriage was duly performed in its own palace. The Lord's relatives, including His mother Devakī, appeared at every wedding.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa manifested identical forms of His original form in all 16,100 palaces. This reveals His inconceivable potency: He is not an ordinary human being.

Key points from the purport
  • As Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains, here the word yathā indicates that each marriage was duly performed.
  • So it is not astonishing that the Lord simultaneously appeared in 16,100 wedding ceremonies taking place in 16,100 royal palaces, accompanied in each palace by all His relatives.
  • Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī further explains that on this particular occasion the Lord manifested His original form in each of His palaces.

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:

The infallible Supreme Lord manifested Himself in sixteen thousand one hundred separate forms and married each of the sixteen thousand one hundred brides in a different temple. He took up the required activities of household life just like an ordinary person, accepting various kinds of service from each of His many wives.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.59
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. atha uand then
  2. muhūrteat the auspicious time
  3. ekasminsame
  4. nānāvarious
  5. agāreṣuin residences
  6. tāḥthose
  7. striyaḥwomen
  8. yathāproperly
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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 10.59

    In this verse: “mother”

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 does this account challenge the habit of thinking of Kṛṣṇa as an ordinary person?

Practice

Reread the translation while consciously remembering that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa's Marriages Reveal His Inconceivable PotencyThis 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 10.59.42? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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